


Digital Dungeons

by DigiConjurer



Category: Digimon - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Orcs, Original Character(s), Other, Succubi & Incubi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-28 16:30:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 60
Words: 191,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20067097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: In the town of Aldia, shadowy forces gather. The only hope takes the form of strange digital monsters - digimon. But in the hands of their partners, there is much to learn...





	1. A beginning

I don't own digimon.

* * *

With the end of one story, came the beginning of another. For the sleepy town of Aldia, things were normal. Well, as normal as one can get in a fantasy world. The various races that called this town home were mostly living in harmony. Sure, some things could be a lot better. Life's that way for lack of a better word. But such peace was inevitably going to be shattered one way or another. Can't have much of a story without a little conflict.

Which brings us to a quaint little neighborhood. Lit by lanterns hanging on metal poles, this was as good of a place as any settle down. Not that I can really do that at the moment.

"Home sweet home." a man whispered as he carefully opened the door to his one room shack. While not the biggest or comfiest places found in town, the building did the job nicely. For Blaze, that was all he really needed. Okay, maybe some dance pictures. But those were more of a want than a need.

Currently, four wooden walls and a stone floor were the first things to greet him. Followed by the makeshift heater/stove. Then the blanket that pulled double duty as bedding. A window had been carved in for viewing. But mostly so he could practice his dancing while viewing the pictures of the dancers he aspired to be. As for the boy, he was dressed in typical adventurer's garb - cloth top with a set of trousers. But what is that? I believe I can just make out a leotard of sorts underneath. Not that there's any problem here with me, Mr Lore Mage over here. But that's not really the point at the moment. A pair of auburn eyes examine the surroundings, while locks of fiery red hair reaches towards the man's neck.

"Roasted carrots tonight, for better or worse." he thought and set the veggies on top of the stove. After, he bent down and picked up a stray piece of flint, lighting the appliance in the process. The clothes come off, revealing the leotard underneath. Cherry red satin with almost pink accents, it looked handmade. Which was quite likely the case here as the fighter began to dance. Standard ballet stuff - a mix of splits, twirls and pirouettes. While all of it was rough, one could see the passion of the person on full display here.

Such performances weren't meant to last though, judging by the loud sound echoing about outside.

"Wait. What was that?" the fighter muttered and ran over to the nearby window. Once there, he gazed through.

While the stars were twinkling brightly and things looked calm, that didn't explain the large rock hurtling down towards the town square. While he normally wouldn't pay such mind to a strange event, something about the large rock was calling out to him. Turning off the stove and grabbing the carrots, he made a beeline for the door.

Outside, silence had taken hold of the streets. Most people had already gone to bed for the night. The few that hadn't were trading words and possibly blows at the nearby tavern. Blaze usually preferred to avoid those places. Too noisy for his tastes and the insistence on serving booze were the big turn-offs. That, and getting cat calls from dudes and sometimes the ladies was not something that

"I'm coming big rock!" he announced, trying his best to skip his way down the pass. Not too feminine, but not too masculine either. "Hello?"

The fighter let his skip become a slow jog as a fountain came into view. A generic art project built by the previous mayor, it had some charm to it. If the water functions actually worked properly.

Blaze took a bit into one of the slightly warmed carrots and did a double take. While he had caught up to the rock, that was the least of his worries right now.

Instead of finding the rock in one piece and somehow unharmed by the slowly approach impact, it would seem as if the rock had shattered in some capacity. Five smaller rocks of similar size streaked across the sky,

'Hello? Have you come for me?'

Blaze took a step forward, keeping his scimitar lowered for the moment. As traps went, this one felt quite obvious. But something about the egg was drawing him over. As his head shouted no from within, his feet walked forward until the fighter found himself right in front of the egg.

'What is your dream?'

The fighter looked down at his feet, trying to push the thoughts from before out. In place of the refusal of the egg's 'voice', instead were daydreams. Of days dressed up in leotards and other dance costumes doing routines for audiences of all kinds. Just the thought of it brought a smile to Blaze's face. So he cleared his throat.

"I wish to dance." the fighter whispered and stepped towards the egg. He placed a hand upon it, feeling the warmth within. "To tell a story through my moves. That is what I wish to do with my life."

The egg glowed red as cracks formed on the shell. A shockwave followed and knocked the fighter to the ground as light engulfed the area. When the dust cleared and the light settled, a snake remained. A bright shade of rouge, a trace of eyeshadow had been applied to highlight their green serpentine eyes.

"Hello, I am the prestigious Balamon." the snake greeted, watching what it assumed to be it's partner get up and slowly approached. "And you must be Blaze. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Blaze took a deep breath, carefully kneeling down to be on the snake's level. Was this the sort of thing that happened when people were drunk? Weird rocks falling from the sky, talking snakes without some kind of magical enhancement. He was fairly certain that his milk glass had not been spiked when he gulped it all down in one sitting. Maybe it had been? It was a possibility. Except for the fact he had said drink in a crowd of people. All of which were poured out of the same glass. So that couldn't be it.

"Yeah…" the fighter answered and placed a hand on his companion. The warmth felt quite good on his hand. Kind of like a hug of sorts. Which made the strange bracelet on his hand all the more noticeable. Nothing like any arm jewelry that the fighter had seen before, the band itself resembled that of the scarves he practiced with. The circular piece of metal on top was a mystery. What use could that have here? A weird identifier to a great secret? Likely, but Blaze doubted that he had done anything extraordinary enough to catch the eyes of anyone of such renown.

"That is your digivice, the D-Venture." Balamon cooed, slithering their way up onto Blaze's arm. It felt kind of odd. But at the same time, pleasant. "We are partners. Both in rhythm and battle."

The words roll right out of the snake's mouth, forcing his partner's gaze down on him. While Blaze considered himself more of a dancer than that of his chosen class, something about Balamon put him at ease.

"Sure?" he whispered and got a nod from the snake. The sound of electricity followed, as what looked to be guresfigures made their approached. Clothed in strange white lab coats with hoods, blank white masks cover their faces. "What do you want?"

The figures remain silent. Instead, they choose to brandish black sticks towards the pair. Their weapon cackle slightly.

"Uh… are these people with you?" Blaze whispered and felt Balamon shake their head. Carefully, he raised his scimitar up. In turn, the figures raised their weapons. A part of him had no clue what the fuck he had gotten himself into. If this was the path that he would need to take to his dream, so be it.

"Lend me your strength, so that we may dance about these fools."

Instinctively, Blaze put a hand on the bracelet. He could feel the energy surging within, this blazing passion that refused to be subdued under any circumstances.

"Infuse!" he shouted and a red outline appeared on his body. Balamon jumped off, revealing what looked to be a gray outline around their body. "Ember!"

The word now spoken, the fighter's scimitar glowed with heat. Of course, that traveled up to Blaze's hands. So he tightened his grip to the best of his abilities.

"Material!" Balamon announced as the pair set their sights on the figures who had gathered before them in this moment. They charged forward, Blaze pulling his scimitar back in the process. A swing followed as blade met cloth. While the material didn't burst into flames, one could tell that this particular grunt was less than comfortable at the moment. He let out a chuckle, his weapon cackling in the silence.

"There is no place for you, dance or your stupid snake thing." the grunt announced in the most robotic tone possible and smashed their stick into Blaze. "So let us beat it out of you."

The fighter crumpled to the ground, muttering something in the process. Nonetheless, he got back up and tightened his grip on the scimitar.

**Material Bite!**

Balamon's bit down into the grunt's ankle and forced their attention over to the snake. They swing their rod down that way, only to miss. That was all Blaze needed to get back up and swing his scimitar. The blade connected and knocked the grunt to ground. That also got the attention of their friends.

Backstepping, the fighter pulled his scimitar back. A risky maneuver, but well worth the possible disarming properties. He swung it around in a twirl and caught the arm of a grunt. Little embers appeared on the fabric of the lab coat, growing in number quite rapidly. Especially if you're unfamiliar with the technique to expel such flames.

**Material Rattle!**

Balamon shook the back of his tail, mouthing the associated sound. Once more, the snake digimon found all eyes on him. So he stood up and began to shake his body. The dance didn't quite have the effect Balamon was looking for. Instead of keeping focus on the four or so grunts intent on killing the pair, their focus was now on booking it out of here. Cowards! At least grab your

"Come back here!" the wounded grunt announced and sat himself up. His gaze focused in on Blaze and Balamon. "Just end me. That's how it needs to go, right? We attacked you, tried to end your life. Just do it!"

Blaze hung his scimitar to his side and knelt down. Carefully, the fighter grabbed hold of his opponent's mask. A slight tug followed and the mask off.

Under the strange mask and hood was that of a man around his age. Shaggy blonde locks set against obsidian eyes and tan skin, it wasn't anything that Blaze had seen before in his life. Something about this weird, possibly random boy made him want to know more.

"Do you have a name?" the fighter whispered and watched the boy look away. So he sat himself on the ground. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me."

Their opponent looked away, muttering a low word - 'Dave'. Cheeks on fire, he scooted back a tiny bit.

"You're cute." Dave muttered and watched Blaze freeze up. It was not the reaction that he was expecting, but something about it made the ex-grunt want to know more about the fighter.

He got up, waved and made his exit.

"Do you want to see my home?" Blaze inquired.

Balamon nodded, slithering his way onto Blaze's arm.

"Lead the way." the snake digimon remarked and the fighter headed off.

.

Across town, an orc barbarian stumbles her way over to a door.

As long of a night as it has been for her, the thought of rest is comforting. So she carefully pulled the door open and headed inside.

Of course, something as simple as that wasn't in everyone else's immediate plans. For starters, she was being faced down by a strange rock. Which was on top of the scent of cherries, meaning that 'she' had already headed out.

"Crud." the orc muttered, making a mental note of what numbered attempt this was to just return that teddy bear. Unbuttoning her armor, she pulled the bear out. "Tomorrow."

Yeah. then she would no longer be in that elf's debt.

* * *

Notes:

Not going to lie, it's feels amazing to start to a new series. Especially one in a place I don't think I've seen digimon really be in - a full-on fantasy world.

.

Next Time: An Orc, some Succubi and a Monkey. Oh my.


	2. Ghost Cherries

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Yvonne let her eyes reluctantly open.

The scent of cherries hung tightly in the abode, taunting the orc barbarian. She wasn't quite sure where that elf got her perfume, but she wanted some. Or at the very least, a small bowl of cherries.

The cyan paint on the stone walls felt almost out of place, but did complement the spruce floors surprisingly well. An empty sat on the opposite wall of her's, mocking the barbarian with the way it's been perfectly made and how comfortable it must probably be. She was lucky just to get a chance at even getting things 'presentable'.

"Big Sis! Big Sis! Big Sis!"

But certain people had other ideas for the start of her day. They took the form of three little girls at the moment. Quite built for their age, leathery wings and heart-tipped tails twitched about. The tallest of the three had gone for leather armor and a matching set of boots. Whether or not they were wearing something under all of that was not Yvonne's concern. The orc barbarian had least made sure to wear undergarments. But when you're spending every day in a set of heavy armor, the idea of clothes became a top that wouldn't be ruined by sweat and a pair of pair of 'shorts' that could protect the waist. Underwear in other words.

As for the girl before her at the moment, a pair of glass eyes stare back. A head free of hair, much like the barbarian. Yvonne had done that by choice. This little girl was purposeful by way of her mothers. Must be quite a woman to put up with such a creature. I've had friends end up as their slaves or even just statues because they got complacent. Which absolutely sucks. Summoners get a lot of bad press, in between the handful of incidents involving demons and other 'difficult' creatures on top of their willingness to be in relationships with said creatures. The former, understandable. The latter, I'm perfectly fine with. To an extent. You're pulling a creature from another realm to help you with the day-to-day stuff. Love and affection is the least they deserve. Don't steal them from their significant other. They don't like that and it's a good way to end up doing something awful that you regret.

As for her companions, they had green eyes and mustard yellow hair. Their apparel was makeshift sundresses - hand-me-downs from older siblings or perhaps made from recently bought cloth. Shoes covered their feet, almost on their last legs.

"What do you need?" Yvonne mumbled, carefully sitting herself up. Which in turn, brought her attention to the rock. The barbarian had hoped that it was just a weird dream brought upon by the late hours of the job. She might have been asking for too much in that regard. Closer inspection showed it to be an egg of some kind.

When no answer came to her question, she took a deep breath.

"If you're just here to greet me, could you tell me if you've seen Marulyn by any chance?"

The girls looked among each other, only to shrug.

"I think she's on the edge of the alleyways taking watch." the tallest of the three announced as the the trio made their way towards the wall. They phased on through, one of their companions making it through as well. As for the third, they had gotten caught in the gap between the interior wall and that of the exterior. "A little help here?"

Yvonne sighed and got up from her bed. She made her way towards the wall and took the time to look over to her warhammer. On paper, that sounded like a surefire solution. But one wrong move could bring the death of this little. So the orc pulled her fist back.

Fist then met wall, just to the right of where the succubus had gotten herself stuck. A nice hole created, she began to rip into the wall itself. The damage could be repaired later. Right now, getting the girl out was her number one priority.

"Hold still." she whispered and began feeling the wall. If she was lucky, just one more punch and the girl would be out. Hopefully.

Yvonne punched the wall one more time, going for the left this time. A successful blow, she grabbed hold of the walls in between and ripped that part away. While the actual repair would be far more complicated than just putting the pieces of the wall back in, she could just leave gold for Marulyn to have someone repair it.

Right now, her focus needed to be on the little girl. While unharmed, it definitely hadn't been her intention to get stuck in between the walls.

"Thank you, Big sis!" the little girl announced and made a beeline for the front door. "If I see Marulyn, I'll tell her you're looking for her!"

Opening it up, the young succubus headed on through. By the time that the door had swung shut, Yvonne had already started getting her armor on. The set she wore was as heavy as it gets, the metal shining a yellowish shade of white. The chestplate hung a tiny bit loose, which was for the best on the days that the heat was on full blast with little remorse. Plate leggings and heavy metal boots rounded out the lower half of the body, with Yvonne diligently strapping on her vambraces at the moment. The gauntlets followed. All of that just to get the crown jewel of the armor - the helmet. Unlike the rest of the armor set, this particular piece had seen the most work on it. A set of curved horns hung to the side, meant to those that their ancestors sported. A feminine face with defined stared out at all who saw her. Occasionally, she would get compliments on the helmet - about how beautiful it was, how hard she was working to protect these people, stuff like that. All it did was make her feel hideous, ugly even. In between all the scars and bruises that ran across her body to her pathetic bald head. Why would someone say such things to her?

Maybe that's why she wanted to give Marulyn her teddy bear back. Or at least attempt that gesture for the last twelve months or so.

"It's alright." Yvonne whispered to herself, trying her hardest to break free from these negative thoughts clouding her mind. So she put her helmet on and picked her warhammer up. Her gaze focused on the nearby nightstand, where a little teddy bear sat. She takes the time to slip it into her chestplate's storage compartment. Which was more on the side of the plate armor than the obvious place you would expect it to be. Points to the smith who forged it in my book.

With that out of the way, Yvonne gave the egg one teensy little glance. From the look of things, it had smashed through the back wall. A few more coins on the pile should do it.

Right now though, she needed to get her shift started today. Which meant such distractions were unneeded at the moment. But when the orc went to twist the doorknob open, the knob refused to budge.

"Ugh…" she muttered and let go of the knob. "Hey. I thought I unlocked this…"

She grabbed hold of the doorknob once more, attempting to twist it. Still nothing.

'Miss Yvonne, we have some unfinished business to take care of.'

Yvonne swiveled around and focused in on the egg. That had to be the source of the voice. Sure, there was the chance of some unknown force eavesdropping on her in order to gauge her abilities, but they would have made themselves known when the barbarian pinched two holes in the wall.

Slowly, Yvonne approached. She had elected to drop her warhammer and instead keep a fist. Lot safer in regards to property damage on top of more control on her end.

"What sort of business do you 'have' with me?" she inquired, making a quick glance behind her. Then it was back to the rock. Which on closer inspection, had an ethereal quality to it. Coated in gray, muted hearts and batlike wings patterned their way around the surface. Almost like an egg of some kind.

'What is that you wish for in this life?' the egg countered and Yvonne stopped. Every word she knew and probably used in casual conversation at some point in the past couple days. Put together in this particular sequence though, she found herself to be an absolute wreck. Sure, the orc had dreams. Maybe a little bit of candy here, a new book or two there. Material stuff like that. Dig a little deeper into what's going on in that head of her's, what could there be to want? Well, outside of wanting to get to know her 'roommate' to the best of her abilities. Perhaps even get the story on why she's being so elusive. Maybe they had more in common than either of them would expect.

'Do you wish to find out?'

Yvonne's gaze snapped right back to the egg. Fist unclenched, she reached out for it. Gray fog engulfed the one room home, but still somehow allowing for one to see cracks forming on the egg's shell.

"I am Munbimon, your eternally grateful partner." the egg announced as the fog disappeared, revealing a ghost monkey creature. Much like the little girls who had entered her abode unannounced, they too had leathery wings and a heart-tipped tail. "While I understand that you really want to get that bear back to this 'Marulyn' woman, we have other issues at the moment."

Munbimon made her way to the barbarian and floated up to her back. Really. You couldn't think of a better place. So in other words, Yvonne has a monkey on her back. Har har har. Not funny.

"As in what?" Yvonne remarked, taking the time to pick up her warhammer and head for the door once more. Thoughts began swirling within her head. How was she going to explain this? 'Yeah, some rock began to talk to me and now I have a ghost succubi monkey thing for some reason'. While her story had 'credibility', that was pushing it to an extent.

Nonetheless, the barbarian picked up her warhammer and slowly approached the door. Grabbing hold of the doorknob, she twisted the handle to the left and pulled. Door now open, the alleyways of Aldia now on full display. Succubi and their beloveds ( female and male) have their own routines, paying little mind to the orc or the strange thing hanging onto her back. A lot of them could easily pass as orcs.

"Hello."

Yvonne spun around. A figure sat patiently on the roof, clad in steel. A shield emblazoned with a lily sat by their side.

"And you are?" the barbarian whispered, a sigh being the default answer at the moment. Which combined with the monkey digimon casually clinging to her back at the moment, looked to be was defining her day at the moment.

"An interested friend." the figure whispered, feminine and graceful in tone. All of which made Yvonne just a touch jealous. The person held underneath all that exquisitely designed metal had to be just as splendid as the image they created. Right? Then you have their gaze, a mix of indifferent but at the same time, loving and caring. Quite a bit of work for something that the barbarian wouldn't pick up on. "I have an offer for you. Come find me in a couple days. The password is 'In a field of lilies, with a bowlful of cherries'."

Yvonne stood there, debating a possible response. She had no clue who this person was, they at least seemed trustworthy. Who exactly would she need to look for? They would have to know her in some capacity. Suspect-wise, that meant nearly everyone who lived in and/or traveled through the alleyway.

"Okay." she whispered and found the gaze of her partner burning into her skull. The barbarian sighed and gave a wave goodbye.

"Best of luck, Yvonne." the figure remarked as the orc turned around. Out in the distance, a scream echoed through the alley. From the sound of it (gosh darn it), they appear to be at the entrance to the alleyways.

"So you just accepted that this random stranger is totally your friend because?" Munbimon muttered, getting a deep breath in return. Maybe if she dug a little bit into this woman's past, a clearer picture would emerge from the depths. Or just get even more confused. For the succubus ghost monkey, both outcomes were equally useful. "So, who are you really?"

Yvonne looked away, choosing instead to hum a foreign tune. While she heard what her partner had said quite clearly, why did she want to know? Was her story really that one would

"I have nothing to lose." she thought, carefully grabbing at her back. "I'm just the appointed guardian of these people. As the daughter of the chieftain, it falls to me to show those outside of these alleyways that we can coexist with everyone else."

Munbimon nodded. In between the scream piercing through all other sound except Yvonne's voice and their current situation, this all didn't sound so bad. For now at least.

"So parents?"

Yvonne shot her partner a glare. Such a question sat squarely in 'date' territory. Even then, the initial outing

"Hey. That wasn't my intention. Especially with that lady from earlier wanting a piece of you." the monkey digimon continued and watched her partner come to a stop. So she put a hand on her back and made an attempt at grabbing Munbimon.

"There's no way that they would want someone like me." Yvonne remarked, her hands slipping through the monkey digimon. "I'm too ugly. My body is covered with scars. I have sworn myself to protect my people. Why wo-"

Ghostly paws swipe across the orc's vision. A part of her wanted to just jump off, run off to some part of this place where she could never be found. But unlike that stupid snake and their strange fascination with dance and rhythm, Munbimon was going to be an active player in their partner's life. Just they watch.

"Then prove me wrong then."

Yvonne took a deep breath, not even attempting to grab the monkey. Instead, she focused on the alleyway ahead.

"With pleasure." she whispered and picked up her pace. The scream continued on, the intensity growing with each step the orc took. This was just part of the job - for good or ill.

"Bre-"

Yvonne doesn't even finish her sentence, appalled by what she was witnessing. Five grunts had gathered, going about kicking what looked to be one of the young succubi who had visited her earlier. While harmed, they had gotten there in the nick of time.

"Oh. Does the little think she's a big girl walking around all alone?" one of the grunts announced as they pulled their foot back. Within her helmet, every part of Yvonne was screaming with an internal rage. These were her people, how dare they treat them like they were nothing more than pieces of dirt. That was her job. To be the dirt that the bullies could walk on so that everyone else could grow.

"I can grant you that wish, to an extent of course." Munbimon whispered, putting a hand on the barbarian's shoulder. "Just look down at your left arm."

Yvonne's gaze shifted to her arm. There, a metal circle had been hammered into her gauntlet. So she put her hand on it.

"Infuse!" the orc announced and found herself engulfed in a gray outline. Munbimon jumped from partner's back, catching some sick air as she glided down. Though now, she seemed to be sporting a reddish brown outline. "Spirit!"

The magic word spoken, Yvonne's warhammer went ethereal. Not that her grip slipped off of said weapon.

"Dust!" Munbimon added as she cracked a flirty smile. None of the grunts paid her much mind. Which in turn, made the monkey mime a throw at them.

"You have till the count of three." Yvonne announced and pulled her warhammer back. One of the grunts made a beeline further into the alleyways. They didn't make it too far, getting mobbed by a bunch of young succubi and other little kids. "Three."

She slammed the warhammer down and watched her opponents be pulled together. Following this, was her partner puckering up.

Dust Kiss!

Blowing a kiss, it reaches a nearby grunt. They stagger in place and swing their rod into their cohort.

"You dumb fuck!" the grunt announced and smashed their own rod into their affected teammate. Quite a mark they now have. Might even be enough to get a free drink from the local establishment. If they're of age, of course. But that's beyond my expertise at the moment. I'm a narrator, not a barhopper. Did have a few friends attempt that. As it turns out, outdrinking a satyr is a nightmare and not a recommended activity. At all.

Back with our orc and her strange monkey hybrid thing, they were doing surprisingly well against the group of four before them. Well more like three, but the point still stands. Warhammers are quite a potent weapon, especially in the hands of a barbarian such as Yvonne.

"Don't you dare to show yourselves back here again. Ever." she snarled and took one more swing. While she didn't kill any of them, it was enough to freak her opponents out.

Dust Drain!

Brownish green energy began to siphon out from the grunt's bodies. This, not Yvonne's final swing was their breaking point. Oh well. They're definitely not the sharpest knives in the knife block.

"Good work." Munbimon muttered and floated back to her partner's back. "Now, we need to find the ot-"

Before she could finish their sentence, Yvonne knelt down by the young succubus.

"Are you alright?" she whispered and watched the child nod. Wrapping her arms around them, a loose hug followed.

"Do make sure to get back to mommy and her beloved."

The child flashed a thumbs up and made a beeline for the deeper part of the alleyways. Yvonne watched for a bit, eventually letting her focus return to her partner.

"What do you need?" she whispered and Munbimon floated around. It felt kind of odd to be talking to a ghost. But the barbarian could get used to it.

"We need to find someone." the ghost monkey digimon explained. "But, they're outside of the alleyways. It's yo-"

Yvonne made one more glance towards the alleyways. Home at times, getting out could do some good.

"I would be fine with that." Yvonne remarked and began the trek across the divide from the alleyways to the city proper.

Had more attention been paid, she would've noticed the figure from earlier. Not that it matters in this current moment.

"You got this, Yvonne~" they invite, cherry lips debating the blowing of a kiss. She does the deed, watching the little heart make the journey to her target. While Yvonne felt it, little mind is paid to it.

* * *

Notes:

Yes, we're changing things up with a mixed team. This is going to be fun. ;)

.

Next Time: Come together, right now.


	3. Piecing this mess together

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Memories of last night still hung tightly within Blaze's head.

They weren’t bad memories per say, just an endless string of questions for the fighter to ponder at the moment. What was Balamon? Sure, they looked like a snake with eyeshadow of all things. But what if they weren’t? They could’ve easily came from a realm beyond this isolated city. Countless worlds, all of which were their own story to tell. My ‘students’ (I’m a teacher assistant) were given similar assignments to. I can only wish that the war occuring right outside these walls does not reach them. Oh? Sorry. I got stuck in my head for a second there. Sorry about that, viewer. Back to the questions.

Why had he been chosen? Sure, there might be other people in Aldia and this currently unnamed world that could easily fit the bill. What special ‘spark’ did he possess that they somehow didn’t? Personally, I have no clue either. List of names, people to watch for pretty much. Outside of that, blind I went into this. You’re all quite surprising. I can’t wait to see where you and your companions take me.

Right now though, it was time to get up. Getting up from the bed, Blaze threw his usual outfit on. No leotard. That can be for later when he found wherever he had set down his backpack. 

“Wakey wakey, Balamon.” he whispered and carefully shifted the covers away. The snake stirred slightly. Eventually, it sat part of their body up and focused on their partner. “So, what do you think?”   
Balamon slowly gazed around the abode. While he hadn’t been briefed on anything before getting sent down via ‘meteorite’, this was an alright start. Sure, having the proper facilities in regards to the bathroom and kitchen would upgrade this from just bog standard living quarters, he could see that their partner was making do with what they have. Something like that.

“It’s alright.” the snake digimon explained, gazing towards a faded poster. A dancer of some kind is performing. The lettering on the bottom end proudly announces this as ‘Kirsa Ballet Troupe’. Quite remarkable condition. All the posters I have are a bit battered and beaten. “Are those who you wish to dance with?”

Blaze nodded.

“Yeah.” he answered and sat himself down beside his partner. “The first time I saw them, something about them captivated me. I just knew I wanted to join them. So I walked up to the captain…”

Turning back the clock for just a moment, we find ourselves with a younger Blaze. Not a single sign of his parents though. Better not be a future sign of trouble.

“Mister, I would like to join your troupe.” Blaze announced, meager bag of coin in hand. The troupe leader, a man who looks like they can pass themselves off as a slender woman most days of the week, takes one look towards the currency. Then it’s back to Blaze. Towering over them in just a leotard and tutu, they’re quite a sight to behold. Their hair has been tied into bun. Mostly so that didn’t get in the way when performing a variety of complex moves associated with this style of dance. A pair of pointe shoes hang snugly to their feet. They look well worn. Though, I’m not certain such an art has a place in a fantasy world. No offense to Blaze and anyone else who likes those sort of things. Hard to really tell with these sorts of things.

“Kid? You have parents, right?” they ask and get a nod from the child in front of them. A deep breath followed “Go back to them. Live your life and dance, then maybe come find us. Maybe then we’ll let you take a shot.”

A confused glance was not the troupe leader was expecting to get, judging by them now kneeling down and putting a hand on the young fighter’s shoulder. A deep breath followed.

“I can understand you wanting to run off and see the world. Believe me, that was the same thing that I wanted when I was your age.” they continued, letting a smile form on their face. “But something tells me that you have a bright and joyous future ahead for you. Your dream will come. I just know it.”

Blaze gives one more nod and watched the troupe leader make the slow walk back to his group. A part of him had wanted to follow the man, but he let the words spoken play through his mind one more time. Then he walked back to his parents. While they hadn’t seen the stunt he had pulled, he made sure to give them a hug and tell them that he loved both of them.

Back in the real world, the fighter continued to stare towards the poster. While he looked deep in thought, any small amount of movement would force his attention back over to Balamon. So the snake digimon did just that. Bites shouldn’t count, though. But Blaze’s gaze still swiveled over to his partner.

“Is there anything that you would like to ask me?” the snake digimon inquired and watched Blaze look towards him for a second. Silence followed, time being taken to form the proper sentence. I hope at least. Don’t want to waste it on something miniscule.

“What even are you?” the fighter inquired and watched his partner look away. In retrospect, he probably should’ve phrased the question heck of a lot better. How does one going about asking such a thing in the first place? Is it a matter of starting with ‘You look like a snake. But are you only part snake?’ or do you need to lead into such inquiry with something else. Sure, I may be a lore mage, but that doesn’t mean I have the answers to all the questions in this very moment.

“I’m a construct of a digital ‘data’ in the shape of a snake, partnered to you for the sake of repelling an incoming threat. Or in other words, a digimon” Balamon explained, catching just a tiny bit of steam coming from his partner’s ears. “Uh… are you alright?”

Blaze.exe has stopped working. Just give him a moment to rebo-

“A what now?”

Or not, judging by our fighter here getting back up. Dusting himself off, he let his gaze return to Balamon for the moment.

“I got the construct part. I think.” he explained and petted his partner. “What does digital and data mean?”

Balamon let out a low sigh, muttering something under his breath. This definitely was not in the equation. Perhaps his expectations in regards to this world’s education system might’ve been a bit too high. I thought the same upon my initial entry in college. For all the geniuses and gifted people you may find there, you have just as many party animals and other questionable characters to deal with. 

"Digital means the format, while data is the type of energy." he continued, waiting for the inevitable puff of steam to come out of Blaze’s ears. None came, so the snake digimon got ready to continue. “From one form to another, it’s neither removed or added too. Just exchanged between sources.”

Blaze nodded, letting memories of last night’s fight come back to him. While the feeling within brought up a mix of strange feelings (not at all helped by Dave’s compliment), this was something that would need to be mastered in conjunction with his dance moves. But that still didn’t explain what had happened in that moment. The heat of his blade. The fiery impact of which could easily set fires if not handled correctly. With a name like Blaze, you’re kind of expected to cause some level of property damage 

“So you gave me part of you in exchange for part of me?” he inquired, hoping that he hadn’t made himself look like an idiot twice in the last couple of minutes. But when Balamon reluctantly nodded, he let out a sigh of relief.

“That is the whole idea of infusion.” Balamon continued, the words just casually rolling off his forked tongue with little build-up or anticipation. You could’ve left me hanging. Actually, this is probably for the best at the moment. “It’s a win-win. You get the ability to elemental power, we get a friend of sorts.”

That makes sense to an extent. Doesn’t answer the questions I have. But those can wait for the moment. Especially from someone far more knowledgeable and proficient in this topic. No offense to Balamon of course.

“Is there anyone in there?”

Both fighter and snake’s gazes swivel over to the door. A loud knock followed.

“Coming!” Blaze announced and skipped his way over to the door. Pulling it open, he found himself face-to-face with Yvonne of all people. “Hello. Is there something that I can, uh, help you with?”

Yvonne took a deep breath, only for Munbimon to jump from her back and float over to Balamon.

“There you are, you stupid snake!” the ghost monkey digimon announced as Yvonne followed right behind. "You promised me that you would give a signal for where to land. What's the big idea in splitting off without a word?!"

Balamon rolled his eyes. Rattling followed. All that did was get a pretend throw from the monkey digimon. It wasn’t that he forgot the plan. This was more of the result of five digimon not being able to decide upon a proper signal. Especially when some of them didn’t have hands to signal with in the first place. By the time they were beginning to make progress towards their presumed goal, there wasn’t any time left.

“Uh… is the guy loitering around the back, yours by any chance?” the orc inquired, watching her audience slowly take a step back. Blaze’s gaze shifted towards the window and looked on through. There he found Dave, loitering about. While the fighter wasn’t entirely sure of what sort of answer this strange woman was looking for, the fault was technically his at the moment. So he would’ve need to resolve that once he had least heard what his guest had to say at the moment.

“Yes.” the fighter answered, focusing back on Yvonne for the moment. Part of him wanted to book it out the door, maybe even join his strange admirer. Something in his head told him that was a bad idea. “Uh… I’m Blaze.”

He held his hand out and watched Yvonne grab hold. Rough handshakes are one way to start a possible friendship.

“Yvonne.” she explained and broke away, finally removing her helmet. Sorry. That was kind of bothering me at the moment. Gazes met, only to shift away to other things. Yvonne going to that of her partner, Blaze to the window towards Dave. “I’ll give you a minute to figure out your friend here.”   
Blaze nodded and made his way out of the house and around. The former grunt still stood there, no longer armed. At least for the moment. He had weathered through what I can only assume to be the cold of the previous surprisingly well. Whoever was employing him at the moment had at least supplied a set of clothes to wear under the overcoat. Shirt and pants, though they don’t appear to be the best pair to wear for sleeping outside. The labcoat had served as a makeshift pillow. Definitely didn’t look comfortable to sleep on. Let alone wear for that matter. Hopefully, he can find something that works better than that stuff.

“Uh… sorry about what happened last night.” Dave explained, trying his best to look away from Blaze. But his gaze always had a way of returning right to the fighter. “If they weren’t threatening us all with the possibility of far worse things happening to my family, I probably wouldn’t have said those things. Though, thanks for not ending me.”

Silence is all Blaze has in this moment. Just from the sound of this alone, he wasn’t entirely sure how to feel. While the apology helped. Would it be wise to really push for a better explanation? What if that pushed Dave away? For now, he would leave that to the back burner. When Dave wanted to tell him, he would.

Of course, Dave wasn’t done with his speech. 

“Do you think we can uh… maybe… possibly…”

Blaze stared towards the man, unsure of whether to interrupt him or not. He could see where this was going, but a part of him wanted to see if Dave was going to really ask what he thought he was going too or miss the mark entirely.

“A daaate?” Dave finally spit out and watched Blaze take a deep breath. Dating had never been something the fighter had really put much thought into. When was the last time that he had been in a relationship? Sure, he made an effort to practice in the town square. But no one really paid much mind to the fighter.

“Maybe in a couple days?” Blaze added, cheeks now fiery red. While he wished it wasn’t so obvious at the moment, that was what he got. “You can feel free to stay in my house. Just understand that it might not be up to your standards.”

Dave perked up when the words hit him. Sure, he was supposed to be paid by his employers. But the rumors of a lack of funds and having nothing in the way of actual information on where he even was at the moment. This town most definitely had a name. But he hadn’t seen any form of signage to tell him what it was. Heck, he would kill for a map at this very moment.

“You would?” the former grunt asked and got a nod in return. “I’ll just wait out here till you and your orc friend finish whatever business you have.”

With that, Blaze gave a wave and made the short walk back around. While that wasn’t his initial plan for handling such a strange situation, it would do for the moment at least. Nothing else, Dave could at least be someone who had some general idea of who they might be up against. Maybe.

Nonetheless, the fighter headed through the open door and closed it behind him.

“I’m back.” Blaze announced as he took a seat beside Balamon. His gaze shifted over to Yvonne and Munbimon. “So what exactly do you need from me?”

Mumbimon cleared her throat.

“You and Yvonne have been chosen.” the monkey digimon explained and made her way over to Balamon. Which involved pulling the snake digimon over for some reason. Whatever works for you here? Something like that. “Right now, we need to focus on finding the other three pieces of the ‘meteorite’.”

The ‘pair’ looked towards down their D-Ventures. While the design of the devices varied vastly between them, the same core idea was in play. Put your hand on the metal circle, shout the magic word and let the energy course through your body. Simple as that. Has to be a catch within all of this.

“So as long as we have ‘these’,” Yvonne inquired and held up her D-Venture. “We’re able to infuse?”

Munbimon nodded.

“Yes. If you practice, you can exchange that energy in between each other on top of your partner.” the monkey digimon explained, her tail twitching about for the moment. Gaze on the door, she let out a sigh. “But right now, we have a bigger issue at the moment.”

Balamon’s gaze swung over. He muttered something to himself, making a quick look to his partner. But when the fighter stayed silent, he took a deep breath.

“Our other companions, correct?” the snake digimon remarked and got a nod from Munbimon in return. After, he slithered over to Blaze and grabbed hold. Then it was a matter of just climbing up the fighter’s body. Munbimon did something similar. Except with Yvonne instead of Blaze. "No time like the present."

Blaze nodded and went to grab his scimitar. Which had been left by his bed . I do hope that he doesn't step on it during the middle of the night. So he carefully attached the weapon to his left side.

While the fighter did that, Yvonne stood up and let her warhammer hang within both of her hands. I guess some people don't quite trust those kind of attachment points.

“Let’s go then.” the orc remarked and the two headed for the door. Making their way out, Dave chose this moment to approach. As good of a time as any in this situation.

“You don’t mind?” the former grunt remarked.

“Not at all.” Blaze answered and bidded his newfound friend in. “Just don’t break anything.”

Dave nodded and watched the duo head for the center of town. For now at least, a quick nap of sorts was in order. Then he could get to tidying the place up. That would be the start of all the things he could offer for the fighter.

.

Below our heroes feet, fate is already hard at work. It takes the form of a rock casually floating down a stream.

The creature within has no clue what is watching them. From their little cone of vision, all that’s illuminated is a shrine of sorts. Abandoned for some time, an unknown force diverts the flow of water just enough to bring them over. Once they’ve reached their destination, the stream is returned to its original position.

Amid the cobblestones covered in darkness, a beast’s gaze hone in on the rocks. I can only wonder what awaits the creature held within…

* * *

Notes:

After writing Yvonne's introduction chapter, I realized that Blaze needed a bit of love. So I gave some to him.

.

Next Time: Little little dragon, what will you do? 


	4. Dragon Bonds

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Bubbles's gaze flicked over to the far side of the room.

Currently, the red dragon hatchling was deep in imaginative play with a couple of cloth dolls. Modeled after princesses from stories told to little children, the waters of the sewer did little wonders for them. Not that the dragon minded. Friends till the end, no matter the circumstances or events that transpired in these stories. There was also a happy ever after. Such as one we find right now.

"Of course Princess Hilda, I would be happy to marry you."

They push this doll into another, similarly-dressed princess. The embrace that follows is alright, with the dolls being walked down the 'aisle' to an audience of rocks. Just barely, the flow of water had been diverted by something large. I don't dare to imagine what exactly is the source of that. No, definitely not going there.

I have seen better at necromancer puppet shows. They're quite big fans of those sort of things, believe it or not. Everyone thinks - 'hey, I'll just raise an army from the dead and take over the world'. But that's far from the case. A lot of the necromancers I know really get into their work. They take the time to find period-appropriate attire and learn much of the slang from the deceased's time for their shows. They're much like lore mages in that regard. The other day one of the school's wild childs (no connection to wild magic, sadly) came in dressed like a lady from another land. She had explained that this was how both men and women wore in the deceased's day. The whole getup was a ballroom gown decked out with an absurd number of petticoats and frills. Caked in makeup and jewelry, her appearance was actually presentable for once. Even got a pair of heels (my co-workers and I gave her permission for the usually forbidden footwear) that matched.

Not that anyone said anything during her show. We were all impressed that she had managed to not destroy the dress post her assignment. She's soon to graduate. I believe. Me? My graduation was around two years ago. Oh. I got off track, didn't I? Not my intention, but you at least got to know a bit more about me - Mister Lore Mage. Yes, Mister is my actual first name. You can blame that on construction going on at my home when my parents were naming me.

Back on the scene itself, our little dragon is hard at work brainstorming a new story. Or perhaps a continuation of sorts to the story that had just finished. Maybe the honeymoon for the married princesses? Possibility, I guess.

'Is there anyone there?'

Bubbles looked around. Used to voices talking to him, he takes the time to police up his dolls. Both of which are in surprisingly good condition. One would expect them to be riddled with holes and other marks. Quite the opposite in fact. One's a brunette, the other a blonde of some description. Decked out in dresses fitting their royal status, these two had flats. But that could just be the medium rather than the doll maker here.

"Nighty nighty, Hilda and Blance." the dragon cooed, time being taken to carefully put both princesses in and to bed. A little excessive, but whatever works for you?

The dragon waits a couple seconds, gazing down into the bag. Once whatever arcane goal is reached, he took the time to close it. Then he was ready to make the trek over. By that, I mean Bubbles charged forward in that general direction.

Effort was put in to avoid smashing directly into the wall, stopping just before the destination - an ornate shrine. It's unlike any religious altar I've ever seen in my life. There's no real defining feature to any of this. An egg sits in the middle of the structure. From the little light piercing through the dark, I can make out… drawings. Figures of some kind, they all appear to be friendly to each other. Not really a clue to what sort of shrine someone dedicated too. Almost as if such an answer wants to elude. It'll come eventually.

"Hi!" Bubbles greeted, awaiting a response from this unknown figure. None came, so the little dragon put a hand on the egg. What's that going to do? "Anyone here?"

Silence was all the egg had on offer right now. Even more so when Bubbles wrapped his little upper talons around it.

'Not at all. You must be some weird passerby that just happened to come upon me. Just shoo, or at least direct me to an actual humanoid being!'

Bubbles sat himself down and let go of the egg. While the message that had just coursed through his head told him go away, he didn't want to. If anything, the little dragon wanted to find out what was inside.

"Hear you!"

A groan echoed through the dragon's mind. Unpleasant in nature, it didn't register in their mind to the extent that the speaker wanted it too. If anything, that was just pushing them further on this unknown path.

'Fine. What is it that you want, great beast?'

Bubbles stared at the egg for a moment, trying his hardest to come to an answer. So he opened his pouch. Princess dolls came out and were set down to face the egg. Bubbles whispered something to them.

"Princesses!" the dragon announced, the egg looking just about ready to fall over. Phenomenal balance, by the way. "With them, together forever."

The answer sounds bizzaro, an argument born from a creature with ideals different from most humanoids. But maybe if they played along, they could get them on their side.

'Is that your dream?'

Bubbles nodded, eyes closing for a brief moment as they placed a talon right on the egg. Green light erupted forth from the shell, illuminating the room. I can see the mural quite better. People and creatures of all sorts, joined by a common goal. A genderless construct of energy appeared to have gathered these people here. Why were they abandoned? Did they do something so bad to their own worshippers that they decided to entomb her? I have heard rumors of a pseudo deity getting beaten to death by a priest of the sun. Took the priest with them with a blow of their own. Whether or not that sort of story is actually true lies beyond my capabilities. Does sound like a horrible, self-destructive way to end things. I do hope that this wasn't the case. A story spun from some nasty rumors.

As for the mural, a mystery for another time. A breadcrumb trail for us to follow.

Whatever the case, cracks began to form on the shell. Bubbles took a step back, watching as the light dissipate. A little plush rabbit took the place of the egg, confused and terrified at the moment. Their body is covered in patches with a beach theme of sorts to boot. I can see the idea. The execution is alright. Maybe a different creature next time? Yeah.

"Hello!" Bubbles greeted, flashing a wide smile. "Name?"

The rabbit plush stepped back and found their back to the wall. Not quite the situation they were expecting to be in at the moment. Perhaps they had thought that their chosen master/mistress would be something more humanoid. But beggars can't be choosers in that case. Which was made all the more worse when their dragon captor made his approach. They took it remarkably slow by dragon standards. Possibly because he too is just as confused as the little rabbit at the moment.

"Friend?" he whispered, arms held out for an embrace. The rabbit digimon just balled their body up, making their patchwork body even more visible at the moment. This is actually kind of cute to an extent. Their partner doesn't accept it. If anything, they get out of the way in the hopes of escaping. "Oh…"

Bubbles's gaze fell to the sewer floor. He had made an effort to approach this unknown creature with an offer of friendship. Why was it so adamant on refusing such an offer? Did he need to take a step back and give the creature space? Maybe.

So Bubbles took a step back. The rabbit plush on the other hand, chose to let their focus be on the wall.

"Why are you even down here?" they muttered, oblivious to the confused look Bubbles was currently giving them. Maybe that was for the best.

"Mommy, here."

The rabbit listens to the words dump out and try to hold back their laughter. It's quite an unsuccessful attempt, all things considered.

"There's no way that your mother is down here, kid." the rabbit plush remarked, finding Bubbles making their approach. The dragon comes to a stop at the altar and knelt down. So they cautiously join their unlikely companion. Nothing to really lose at this point, they copy his actions.

"Oh mommy, Bubbles found friend today!" the dragon announced, lifting the rabbit plush up for everyone to see. Well, everyone with some sort of omnipotent viewpoint or something along those lines. Which boils down to me and this unknown deity. If you're out there, give me a sign. Gets kind of lonely being the only one here. War hasn't helped things either.

Sadly, only static comes through for the pair. Not even the good peaceful static. This static sounds more like someone beating creatures up across a weak signal. Just the worst of both worlds, especially if you're mixing voice transmissions into the mix. Thankfully, the static comes to a stop and both worshippers get back up onto two legs. More or less.

"Mommy gone, oh well." Bubbles muttered, letting his focus be on the rabbit plush for the moment. "Bubbles. You?"

A happy smile formed on his face and their 'friend' took a deep breath. At this point, any information gained was to their gain. Just a name shouldn't hurt anyone. Hopefully.

"Phusitmon." the rabbit plush whispered, getting caught up in an embrace of sorts from the dragon. It actually felt nice. Quite a surprise for Phusitmon. "I guess that makes us partners then."

Bubbles nodded, the sound of boots running across the cobblestones invading the area. Just barely, four figures could be seen making their approach.

So the dragon turned his attention to the altar, kneeling down once more. A deep breath follows.

"Pledge myself to you, mommy." Bubbles whispered, right claw now on the altar. "Bubbles will spread blessing to surface."

The grunts grow closer as a holy symbol appeared around Bubbles's neck. Of note, was the large metal circle inserted into the middle of the normal ankh shape.

"There he is!" a grunt announced, strange cackling stick out and ready. "Oh. A dragon. This should be interesting."

A grin twisted into place, perfect to punch off if you had a set of hands. Sadly, this is not the case. Nonetheless, the pair held their ground. Well, they made an attempt at least. By attempt, I mean that one of the grunts smashed a boot into Bubbles.

"Does the little dragon want their mommy?"

Another kick, with Bubbles carefully clutching to the holy symbol to the best of their abilities. He didn't understand why they were so insistent on beating him up. What unthinkable things did they see that he didn't?

Thankfully, his companion had some semblance of an idea.

"Leave him alone, you big bullies." Phusitmon announced, puffing up his cheeks as much as the rabbit digimon could manage. Surprisingly quite large for something so small. "Bubbles, put a hand on your symbol."

Bubbles nodded, placing a claw on the holy symbol.

"Now shout, 'Infuse'."

Bubbles nodded, his grip on the pendant tightening. But not too much. Didn't want to shatter it after just being gifted it.

"Fuse!" the dragon announces, watching as a blue outline formed around his body. In Phusitmon's case, a pastel green outline was what awaited them. "Druplet!"

His body felt lighter, movement smoothing for a lack of a better word. He holds a claw out, watching it bend back and forth.

"Mending!"

Unlike some of the other powers granted within, something different coursed through Phusitmon's body. Like a mysterious switch flipped, empathy brought forth to the surface. A desire to keep things healthy. Well, as healthy as can be in this situation.

"I'll heal." the rabbit whispered, getting a nod from his partner. After, Bubbles went in for a strike towards the nearest grunt. The blow connected, only to teleport into the nearby stream. It came as quite a shock for the young dragon. At least he took it in stride, splashing about in the water for a second or two. Then it was back to fighting.

"Have a little taste of your own medicine." a grunt announced, flinging their stick into the stream. Electricity coursed through the gentle gush of water, Bubbles's body dancing about in excruciating pain. "Yes, dance for the destruction your kind has caused! Dance!"

**Mending Bubble!**

Phusitmon puffed their face up, gazing in the direction of Bubbles. If they aimed the projectile just right, the chance of winning would be in their grasp. Aimed wrong and victory would just be whisked away. Thrown into the endless void of what if's and never-evers. So he shot the bubble, catching the attention of his partner. Who in turn, gave it a tap. Free from the electricity, he felt the damage done… reversed. Of course, there was still the matter of the stick shocking the water.

So Bubbles carefully unlatched his bag and dug in. While rude to disturb the slumber of a royal lady, duty calls.

"Hilda, assist!" he announced and pulled one of the dolls out. A throw followed, the princess doll connecting with the rod and knocking it over to a nearby wall. Bubbles made sure to put Hilda back into the bag right after. He did ignore the grunt who scrambled over to grab his rod, instead focusing in on the rest. "Friends?"

Running towards the crowd of grunts, a hug was on offer for all of them. Sadly, none of the grunts wanted a hug. They left their weaponless companion to their opponents, making a beeline for the way that they came from.

"Friend?" Bubbles inquired, only for the grunt to wave his stick at them. So he picks Phusitmon up and placed the plush rabbit digimon on his shoulder. A punch followed, with the pair being dragged up to the surface. "Hi?"

A pair of individuals approach, their partners following right behind. Good to see that they made quick time over here.

.

The Black Cat Inn was known by many in Aldia as a gathering spot for the weird. Today was no exception to that rule.

"Almost showtime." a dwarven artificer muttered, finding her way over to her vanity. As rest went, the concept had a sadistic tendency for beating it into her. "Should be a normal show. Maybe two if I do it right."

Understatement of the century, if you ask me. There is no such thing as a normal anything. But I digress.

She gives her briefcase one final look. It shakes a tiny bit.

"I'm sorry that this has to wait." the artificer continued and cradled an egg-shaped rock. "This is the first time in quite a while I've gotten to do my show. Once I finish out my day, I'll get to you."

The suitcase does one more shake, unaware that the one they were talking too has already made their exit.

* * *

Notes:

This was one of the harder chapters of Digital Dungeons to write so far. Unlike Blaze and Yvonne, Bubbles is not a humanoid. He's a young dragon. The usual rules of wants for his kind are similar to humans, but not quite the same. In this case, princesses were the way to go.

Outside of that, how the deity was going to be represented kind of changed as I was writing this. At first, I had wanted the deity to appear in some form. But as I was working out the kinks in Phusitmon and Bubbles's reationship, they took on more of a passive role. For the best, especially if what is happening on Mister Lore Mage's end does approach him.

.

Next Time: Do you want to see a magic trick?


	5. Sparking up an interest

I don't own digimon.

* * *

A part of Blaze and Yvonne couldn't believe what they were seeing in front of them at the moment. There was no way that this little dragon could actually be a member of their team. But in the face of everything that had gone down in the last twelve hours alone, this seemed almost normal to an extent. Was kind of hoping for something to happen right out of left field. You know, the rain being a different color (even having a color) or certain fruits tasting 'different' to an extent. Oh well. Those sorts of differences do little in varying up a world. It's in the big changes where that can be found. Most of the time at least. There does exist a small handful of supposed 'copycat' worlds. But those are nothing of note and rarely worth your time.

"Friends?" Bubbles chimed and took a small step towards the group. These people looked nice enough at first glance, but how would they feel about letting him join?

"Uh… sure." Blaze whispered, taking the time to kneel down and be on the dragon's level. Yvonne on the other hand, kept her distance. Not because she didn't trust her teammate's decision. Far from it. She just wanted to let the fighter have his turn leading. Or something along those lines. A handshake followed. "I'm Blaze."

Bubbles stared towards the fighter, confused by the snake that was currently hanging around their leg. So they focused in on that rather than the fighter at the moment. Didn't really make

"Bubbles." the dragon answered back, reaching out for Balamon. Thankfully, Phusitmon saw where this was going and pushed his partner's hand down. Did get the dragon a look of sorts. Not that the plush rabbit digimon really minded as Yvonne finally decided now was her time to approach.

"Yvonne." she whispered, taking the time to look around the area. Compared to the cramped alleyways that housed a majority of her clan, this was a strange change of pace. Not a bad one, mind you.

Currently, the trio were standing in the middle of Aldia's main streets. Up ahead, was a cluster of inns, taverns and restaurants that made up the main bulk of food and lodging for the area. Of note, was the Black Cat Inn. Just from the large stained glass installation proudly displaying the titular cat alone, these people meant business.

"So how are you, Phusitmon?" Munbimon remarked and received a sigh in return. "Hey. I could think of a ton of worse options than this little cutie here."

Bubbles stood himself up a little taller upon hearing that. Noticing the difference though, was actually quite hard. Guesstimate-wise, I would say around millimeter at most. Possibly less from just eyeballing it. Such a change didn't last long, the result of our little dragon priest losing his balance. He managed to catch himself. Always a plus.

"I'm alright." Phusitmon muttered, a sigh following his remark. With the way that this whole mission had gone so far, it was quite a miracle that they had managed to find each other. Or perhaps it's a matter of logistics and a 'small' area with just a handful of locations to really look over. But don't quote me on that. "How about you two?"

Between the two other digimon, a mix between indifference and frustration was all he got. Exaggerated to an extent, I like to believe there's more going on here. Oh. Now it's turned into something a bit more mellow. Phew.

"We're doing quite well." Balamon explained, taking the time to give Phusitmon one more look. Minbimon did something similar. She did add in a fake throw. Makes me wish she would stop that. At least pick something up.

"Should we at least check out the inn?" Yvonne continued, her gaze already focused on the establishment. Outside of the stained glass picture,window, the exterior of the Inn had some care put into it. Painted pale white with gray accents, almost as if they were trying to balance out the amount of color held within the stained glass. Not quite successful, someone had started at least to change for a more cream color. Of course, a sign modeled off of the titular stained glass window hung in front of double doors.

"Yeah." Blaze remarked, taking the time to scoop Balamon back up. This time, the snake decided the shoulder was as good of a place as any for observing a possibly crowded establishment. Munbimon on the other hand was just going to float. Fair enough. Which just left Phusitmon and where he was going to go at the moment. Sure, there was the option of the much larger Yvonne or even Blaze. But right now, something told the plush rabbit that it would probably be best to stay by Bubbles at the moment.

The actual walk towards the inn past quite briskly for the group. There was no real plan or strategy here. Just a slow cautious approach towards the inn.

The light of the stained glass faded in from the outside, making the place look like a kaleidoscope in some parts. The rest was sadly not as colorful to take in. Whitish yellow walls surrounded the trio in a large 'L' shape, with a staircase leading up to a couple rooms to their right. A kitchen and dining room of some kind had been placed on the left side, with the receptionist desk off to the side. Currently unmanned, of course. Hopefully no one shows up wanting a room. Or even worse, wants to check out and head on. Makes one wonder what the places beyond Aldia look like.

A crowd had gathered towards the northern end of this large room. Majority of them is orcs, followed by a succubi and the other typical fantasy races. Hmm… Something to look into at a future point.

Their attention appeared to be on one woman at the moment. A dwarf, she was fiddling with a large rock. Doesn't explain the choice of a trench coat of all garments for her getup. Auburn hair and topaz eyes, typical dwarven features. Doesn't look too be on the hammered side though. Can't think of a dwarf I know who wasn't. Their alcohol rules are really strange. Supposedly. Yet, she's probably holding back for the show. Fair enough. No one really likes a drunk performer. Well, maybe bards do.

A suitcase of some kind is just jutting out from the side of the stage. I think I can see some scrap jutting out. Metal, maybe? Yeah. Something like that. Not sure that explains the familiar-looking rock on the ground or

"That can't be…" Balamon muttered, tightening his grip on Blaze's arm. The fighter got the message, making his way towards the crowd. Bubbles and Yvonne followed right behind. Except one of them wasn't quite keeping their eye on things at the moment.

"Princess…" the little dragon chimed, gaze now locked onto a woman sitting in the back corner. Decked out in a fancy dress with many petticoats, her short stature came across as refined - almost as if she was a living doll carved with a massive amount of love. But that didn't explain at all why they were so uncomfortable. Their hair was colored as bright shade of white available, with the hairstyle chosen a tower of locks with jewels and ribbon. Didn't explain why her skin look so smooth but at the same time - leathery. Or even the set of faded green eyes that looked graceful but somehow out

Temptation right in front of him, Bubbles gave the woman one last look and focused his attention on the crowd. Even if everyone was a couple feet taller than the dragon and made it hard to really see anything.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I welcome you to Ella's Show of Wonders!" the dwarf announced and smoothed out her trenchcoat. Which was more of an excuse to grab the meteorite and stash it away for the moment."For my return back to this wonderful town, I present… this!"

Ella clapped her hands, causing a turret of sorts to appear. Makeshift in appearance, I don't quite trust such a device. Thing looks like it'll explode if you even glare at it wrong. Might want to get that fixed that later. Oh right. None of them can hear me. My bad.

The turret twists about, shooting out what looks to be little spheres of energy. Currently set to 'stun', they dance about the area in a circular motion. The uses are obvious, even if it does make me wish for a different firing mode. Maybe something that arcs across an area? Yeah, that would be handy in some situations. Or perhaps a full-auto mode. Just throwing it out there.

The demonstration ended with the projectiles exploding and leaving behind a cloud of smoke. Crowd was dead silent though. Not a good start to something like this. Especially when your briefcase looks ready to burst open and eat a person.

She then knelt down, bringing up the rock. Much like the ones that our heroes found, it too looked like a meteorite. How she managed to pick it up without disturbing the creature was a secret to everyone. "Now, can I have a volunteer from the audience, please?"

Nearly the entire crowd's hands went up. Which meant Ella having to get up onto her tippy toes while standing on a box of something. Probably soap, maybe produce. "The miss in the far back, how about you?"

Bubbles gaze swiveled over, intently watching as the woman from earlier got up and squeezed her way through the crowd. Occasional glances towards the back follow, just in case someone was keeping watch of them for some unknown reason.

"Such a pretty rock." the lady cooed, stepping up onto the stage. The tapping of heels against wood followed with each step. "I don't think you would mind me touching it, right?"

Ella nodded, only to begin fiddling with her trench coat some more. Maybe she needs to get a smaller one for future shows. Yeah. That's probably it. Nonetheless, the meteorite changes hands.

"You're such a dear." she cooed, blowing a kiss towards Ella. She didn't really accept all that gracefully. No, she tried to shoot it down with the turret. No such luck.

With that out of the way, this strange lady makes her exit. Or well, tries too at least. Mostly because Bubbles had managed to make his way up onto the stage. Without even being asked. How rude. Kind of expected for a dragon though. They grow as big as they want, taking whatever they want. Though, some have gone full-on princess for whatever reason. Had one do an assembly at the school a while back. They were more of an oriental princess, which is a nice change from the more european-themed ones. That didn't explain the woman carved from what looked to be ice itself draped in a kimono of snow. Quite a nice couple. Hopefully, life is going well for them.

"Princess!"

The lady looked down towards her dress, finding Bubbles giving the garment a slight tug. Nothing malicious, just curious in regards to inquires related to princesses. He's only like five, maybe six at best. Yeah. Sounds about right. All of which raised by a parent who might've been there. Might have not. Fuck. That sounds tragic. Crap. I want to give him a hug. Maybe some other day when they can actually hear me.

A kick followed, with what I can only assume is a halfling now makes a break for it. How rude.

"Hey! It's Madame Von Strauss!" one of the crowd members announced, the group breaking away and leaving our heroes high and dry. While Bubbles did book it that way, he tripped and landed on his face. Looked alright, though.

"You little…" Yvonne muttered and brought up her warhammer. Ms Strauss ignored her idle threat for the moment. How rude. Though, her dress had already given way to a more comfortable jumpsuit. The aging of their skin has returned to normal, leaving us with someone who appears to be from the timeframe as everyone else. Even her hairstyle looks a lot more simple, just hanging down to her shoulders. Still that stupid shade of white with a whip to boot. Oh. I can see where this is all going.

"So long suckers!"

The 'thief' finally made her exit. No one really stopped her. Actually, there's something bothering me. Where's the police? This town has to have a security force of some kind. Unless the various succubi and their beloveds are somehow a deterrent (maybe?). Or perhaps this is a weird town where people have alternative methods for dealing with this stuff.

After, Ella let out a chuckle. Not an evil one, thankfully. That's not something our heroes could really deal with at the moment.

"Idiot." the artificer muttered, giving her suitcase a slight kick. The large box springs open, revealing what looks to be a second meteorite. It didn't look too happy being stuffed inside such a box. Not that one would really blame them for feeling that way. Though, no one was expecting them to hatch immediately. No bright light, sadly. Taking the form of a labrador with feline-like features, their next action is to knock Ella over.

"You… idiot!" the dog cat thing announced and began to shake the artificer about. It looked like she was enjoying it. For some reason. "You told me your dream, then told me to wait in your briefcase. At least let me hatch beforehand!"

Ella let out a sigh. Today was definitely not going her way. In between Madame's appearance and this whole meteorite thing, her level of excitement was drained 100%. No, 200%. Something like that.

"Uh… hi?" she finally greeted, attention fully now on what remains on the crowd. Which was just our heroes at the moment. "Like I said, I'm Ella."

Blaze gave a nod, he and Yvonne making their way over. They did make sure to keep their weapons at their side when approaching. Just in case things did go south and a fight were to some reason break out in that moment.

"Blaze." the fighter explained and knelt down, just at the artificer's level. Which got him kicked in the groin. It wasn't that painful. Or maybe it was a reflection on something in relation to that in regards to size. Nah. Probably just wanted to screw with him.

"You don't have to be such a gentleman." Ella countered and got on her tippy toes. Yvonne set her warhammer down and held her hand out. She was reluctantly accepted, a low uttering of her name following. 'Thank you. Can I have a minute?"

Her 'companions' nod, watching the artificer head behind the curtain. The strange dog feline thing followed right behind.

Compared to the room we've just left, this is a lot smaller. Almost homely, to an extent. A queen-sized bed sits comfortably in the far right corner, while a desk covered in scrap and makeshift machinery took over the opposite corner. A stool of some kind sat under it. As for the other furniture, that was a mix between stuff that had gotten into a bad accident and/or riddled with holes. Not quite the best showcase of someone's room so far.

"Sorry about this." Ella explained, sitting herself down on the bed. Her partner does much the same. Hopefully no dirty pawprints were transferred over in the process. Absolutely dreadful to get out of fabric. "If you hadn't hatched just a bit before me going up on stage, I would've gotten the chance to study you…"

She got a head shake. A deep breath from the dog feline creature is what comes next.

"Could've just delayed your show." they remarked and watch Ella look away.

"I know. But in between chiseling the fake egg and whatnot, I wanted to rebound…"

A slight tap.

"Cinemon, your digimon partner." they announce, the words seeming to catch their partner by surprise. Expected at this point, even if it is a little bit annoying when you think about it. "You've been chosen much like the people out there."

Ella gazed out towards the stage. Bubbles waved back, having pulled himself up in the process. Though now, he was just playing with his princess dolls. Sure, losing Madame kind of sucked, but that could be amended.

"Nice doggie."

The artificer swiveled around, finding a grunt trying to climb their way through the window. While successful, one of them decided that this was above their paygrade. Instead, they decide to skulk about. Which isn't any more helpful than attempting to climb through a window. But I digress.

"This is your time to shine. Buck up." Cinemon explained. "You should find a collar in your hand now."

Ella looked down to her hand, finding a circular device attached to a metal collar. She slipped it on and the whispering of the magical word followed. All while the grunts continued their climb inside.

"Infuse!" Ella announced, a yellow aura appearing around her small body. "Spark!"

The grunts now inside took a cautious step back. At this point, they had learned the same lesson no less than three times with three different people. Or so I thought.

"Turret, go!"

Oh. so I guess she isn't a fan of the whole 'pickaxe' thing. Fine by me. Even if having a secondary is always a good policy. No matter the situation. Which is why I always have a knife of some kind on me. Right, back to the story.

"Your turret doesn't sc-"

Ella just rolled her eyes, focusing fire on the grunt. They didn't have time to finish their sentence, a current of electricity doing the work here. That's what I was talking about. Whoo.

Of course, the shock traveled into the other grunt of the duo. How nice of the weapon to do that for her. Well, up until the part where the thing disappeared and left Ella defenseless. Outside of her briefcase.

"Infuse!" Cinemon shouted, a yellow outline appearing around their body. "Arcane!"

**Arcane Mewl!**

What's a mewl? Now you're just making stuff up on the fly. Unless that's the sound Cinemon makes when they're not in the mood to speak english or whatever this variant of this language is even called. Best answer I have right now. Good enough.

As for the strange sound, that resulted in some of those little orbs from earlier. Lot more powerful too. Especially with the soundwave knocking the two grunts back. Ow. That's a mark if I've ever seen one. All the more reason for our unlucky grunts to take a jump back out.

"Uh… Thank you?" Ella whispered, making her way back into the other room. She did a bow and watched the trio approach. "This is Cinemon. I guess I'm one of you guys now?"

Yvonne nodded. The barbarian was a little cautious after the junk punch to Blaze. Didn't stop her approach, though.

"Welcome to the team, I guess?" she whispered and held a gauntlet-cladded hand out. Ella did shake it, her focus now on the door. "Madame?"

Ella nodded.

"She's still going pass the fake off as a real one." the artificer explained and petted Cinemon. "If nothing else, we need to track her down."

Three nods were her present. Accepting them, the group made their exit.

* * *

Notes:

Compared to Bubbles, this was a lot easier of a chapter to write (chapters are written two at a time). Just getting it to a state that I liked was the challenge.

Yes, I'm aware this the third female leader in a row. Oops?

.

Next Time: Like a thief in the night, caught within themselves.


	6. In the valley of my own head

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Madame Von Strauss couldn't believe her luck at the moment.

Not only had she managed to collect a new piece for the collection, the voices had subsided for the first time in quite a while. A win-win if such a thing could truly exist in the purest form. Heck, even the people who gathered on these streets had better things to do. It was as if the stars had aligned and things would finally change. Or not. She didn't really consider herself that much of a religious person. Sure, she made her donation to the church when that time came around and was more than willing to listen to the choir. Even if it sounded like absolute garbage nine times out of ten. Possibly, it was a way to draw into suckers to give more money in the hopes of singing lessons. Never had any effect on her. Always the same amount - never more, never less. Pays to be predictable in that regard (pun not intended).

"Just a little further." the thief thought, turning the corner as fast as her little legs could carry a halfling of her stature. Except said direction had her heading right towards a wall. So she runs head-on towards said barrier. Instead of cartoonishly flattening like a pancake or worse, breaking every bone in her body, the thief ran right on through and landed in a pile of cushions on what looks to be their last days. Rips and tears crossed about all of them, a quilt of styles and shapes. I guess that was an illusion. Fooled me at least, a high mark for the person who designed it. When they're not lobbying schools to make themselves a separate class once more from all the other schools of magic, those crazy buggers are pushing their craft to the limit. One of them showed a dragon in the dining hall that I swear to you could easily pass for the real thing. Even among a large crowd of them on their way to a bard festival. Especially if said bard is playing something dragonsong. The only caveat is that they can only enter said concert without touching another dragon. Kind of the only drawback (outside of most of illusions needing concentration). While conjurers and necromancers can mostly touch their summon and vice-versa, illusions sadly don't work that way. Not without other spells doing the hard work.

Back with our thief, she's currently getting up from the cushions and making her way further into this strange building. Darkness seems to cover everything, making any difference of direction beyond the starting point almost meaningless. That doesn't stop Madame one bit. A couple turns later, she came upon what looks to be living quarters of some description. Sure, there's shelves for priceless artifacts and stands for various disguises. But all of it feels hollow. Like a gift meant in passing rather than one of love. Cold and heartless, I hope we don't spend much time here.

"That should be enough for now." she muttered, placing the meteorite on the shelf. Then it's a short walk over to a bed. Not a really aesthetically-pleasing one. Straps seem to come off from the posts and are those spikes just sticking out? They look like they've been recently used, blood and other liquids that I don't dare mention splattered. Whatever is happening here, none of this is good. But is Madame the net result or the side effects of such treatments?

What follows, is them pulling at their hair. Wig, maybe? That's quite an odd thing to do to so-

My sentence unfinished, the hair comes out in one huge pull. Bloody needles of some kind hang from the locks of hair, dripping stolen red tears. I need a minute.

Minute now blissfully past puking, our attention returns back to Madame. She currently has a different wig, one that's a lot more boyish. This one also has those stupid needles.

"No, you can't go back to being that person. You're her. Now and forever." they announce and fling the 'wig' towards the shelves. While the clump of hair and needles doesn't really hit anything of value (thankfully?), something within the room changes.

'Is there someone totally there? Hello~'

Madame's eyes dance about, searching for the source of this newfound voice. Unlike those that haunt them, whip is now out in full. At least she's refraining from hitting anything at the moment. Which is always a plus.

"Show yourself!"

But no figure appears, almost silently mocking the thief in that moment. Blending into the shadows and waiting till the time to strike was their method of choice. How dare someone go out of their way to copy them? This was blasphemy.

So Madame picks up the old wig and places it down on their head. The grip held upon her weapon tightens as anger invades this sanctum. Care is taken with each whip strike, never quite reaching the shelves but coming dangerously close instead. If one didn't know better, they would assume that this... person was a marauder. Not a refined member of society.

Eventually, the fury subsides and our thief lets their whip fall to their side. Picking up the wig they had just thrown, their gaze focused in on it. Hair on their head or hair in their hands, the choice had already been made prior to everything that had gone down for them.

"I can't let her win."

Sitting back down on the bed, their gaze flicks about the area one more time. Darkvision be damned, a glint of something pierced right through the dark. Instinctively, they make a beeline towards this strange object. The shine grows clearer with each step, calling out to the thief.

'Take me, Madame.' it announced to the ears of one, shine shaking slightly. Madame wanted to respond back, to tell this treasure that she was on her way. Part of them wanted to pump the brakes on this dash, maybe take a second to think this all through. That particular part was sadly overruled for the moment.

'Uh… are you alright? Like… That's not the thought of someone with like, a whole head to work with.' the voice announced, just catching Madame within their minuscule cone of vision. The thief barely towers over the ovaloid prison holding them in. 'I'm like… a wishing egg. Tap me and tell me what your wish is. I might be able to totally grant it. Maybe"

Madame stared at the egg for a couple seconds. On one hand, a free wish sounded kind of heavenly. Sharing it within all their parts, trying to come together on one wish though? An argument in futility if one had ever seen it. No, they needed to lead into this somehow. How?

"I want to be me." they mutter and place a hand on the egg. Then they pull it back right after. Too late, the egg has already begun to glow with light. Madame looked away, catching a glance of her recent prize. On closer inspection, it would appear that she had managed to grab a fake instead of the actual rock. A whip swing follows, coming quite close to the actual egg. "Sorry about that."

A curtsy followed. Reluctant at best, frustrated at worst.

"Apology like, accepted, dear." the egg announced and gave way to a small mole. Windswept body on full display, the face looked more fitting on a mouse than that of the creature before her. "Though, I like have no wish for you. Outside of the best of luck in regards to figuring out who this 'me' person is."

Madame's gaze fell to the floor. One more curtsy followed. As gestures go, this one made them look rusty. Not the intention that the thief was going for.

"It's complicated." they muttered, whip back at the ready. Less for herself, more for this strange creature that was now intruding in her sanctum. "Now, what makes you think you're so special to invade the sacred place of Madame Von Strauss."

The strange mole thing looked at the halfling, confusion on their face. In between the couple hours of sleep and the ride down here last night, everything must seem like a weird trip so far. It can only get more bizarre from here.

"Could you like, maybe clue me in what the heck you're supposed to be, grandma?" the mole muttered and found a heel in their butt. Lighten up, please? No one likes a sourpuss. "Like, what was that for? I was totally asking an honest question here."

Another kick. Lot harder this time. Don't think her message is really coming through. Possibly, a different format and/or message in this case.

"Do not assume one's age." Madame muttered as she picked the mole up. "Also, what is with your way of speaking? That is refined, I mean unrefined for someone like you to speak the way that you are to me?"

The mole rolled her eyes at the thief. Took everything in Madame's power to not dropkick this strange creature into a wall and whip it to death. That too would be very out of character for them. Even if such an act would absolutely be satisfying to an extent. Giving such feelings weight would be their death sentence.

"You like totally haven't answered my question, grams." the mole continued, getting what sounded like a groan from their partner. "I like can't do anything for you if you like, don't tell me who you are or something."

Madame sighed. Essentially, this whole conversation had been one big circle they had taken. For what? Absolutely nothing. That's what. Well, not quite. Sh- no they had now a general idea of what sort of creature was potentially capable. Now, it was a matter of getting them to a place where she could work her magic.

"I take things and… redistribute them around to keep the economy going."

Their companion's eyes lit up. Kind of like diamonds. Made her kind of happy. Made them less than so. That wasn't her problem. More of theirs if you push it.

"In my off time, I act as a refined lady. Much like my mother fo-"

The mole placed a paw on Madame's chest. A waving motion follows. I guess turnabout is fair play here.

"Like, is this woman still like alive? Let me totally give her like, a whopping to her tush." the mole shouted, shaking both paws towards the dark ceiling. Two sighs from Madame were her answer. Doesn't bode well for the mole.

"Yes and no." Madame muttered. "She's dead, but I will be her. Soon. The deeds been done and my say matters no more."

Jumping out of her hands, the mole delivered a punch to the gut.

"Like, with that sort of attitude you would be." the mole countered, only to remember something. "Silly me! I like forgot to introduce myself! I'm Kollmon!"

She does a little twirl, catching a glare from her partner. Someone isn't a fan of her little show. But what fan of anything really are they?

"We're partners now. Like, you need to treat me better and stuff." Kollmon continued and went in for a poke. Didn't really hurt, but did look to be on the annoying side of things. "You totally need me, I like need you."

While I doubt Madame actually felt anything, they did sort of see the point of this. Not that said point was really any good to begin with.

The muttering of some phrase under their breath follows. In an instant, their appearance look of a thief on the prowl disappears, replaced by a refined lady of sorts. The same lady that was brazen enough to steal fake space rocks in broad daylight. At least wait for night time and then do the deed. Or have a proper distraction of sorts.

Nonetheless, her partner takes their appearance in. At first, they don't seem so thrilled about all the frills. Let alone the jewels and ribbon in the hair.

"You clean up, like real nice." Kollmon remarked, finding herself back in their partner's arms once more. "But I don't like, see you in here either."

The words rolled out of the mole's mouth and time slowed, the creature bracing itself for sudden impact. But when no such drop came, her attention shifted back towards the thief. Time still stubbornly stuck, their hands are on their hair. A tug follows, but only the jewels fall out in the process.

"How's that?" Madame inquired, taking a deep breath as the flow of time returned to its natural state. A paw up is her answer. They accept it. For better or worse. Personally, it's an improvement. Now, we just need to get rid of the ribbon and then maybe get them a haircut. Or a new wig.

"A total start." Kollmon explained, gaze jumping to the far end of the room. A low mumble followed. "Like, there's a bunch of annoying grunts like coming our way."

The whip came back out, swaying about by their side at the moment. Especially when they charged over to the cushions.

"Are you sure that this is where the last piece of the meteorite went?" a voice announced, taking no time to lower it. After all, it would be quite rude to openly reveal one's plan with some sort of alternative in mine.

"Yes. Doesn't explain the wall though. Just head on through. I'll wait here, just in case things do go south."

The sound of someone running through followed. Thud, followed by swears of some kind. I don't recognize those words they said. Oh well. Not my problem at the moment. Hopefully.

Nonetheless, Madame made their approach. Slowly, not too raise too much suspicion. Well, as long you pretended that Kollmon wasn't there.

"There you are!" the grunt announced and watched the duo approach. A deep breath follows. "Sorry about this. Go out of my way not to hit a lady."

Madame just rolls their eyes, thief outfit back on. Hair tied back this time. Nice. Does look like it'll fall apart at any moment. A start.

"I'm sorry about this." Madame began, only to gaze towards the ground. "Not that a person such as me can call themselves a lady. Let alone a girl."

I'll take your word for it. Nonetheless, the grunt pulled his rod out and let it cackle. Doesn't look too excited about any of this. Not that I blame them after their speech.

"Like, just push against your totally brand new necklace and shout, infuse!" Kollmon explained and jumped out of Madame's arm.

"Infuse!" they announced, a seafoam green outline appearing around them. "Gale!"

A gust came across their body, messing with the hair mostly. The element is mostly focused on the whip itself. Quite handy.

"Guess that means I need to give it all I got." the grunt remarked and took a swing. While the weapon did connect, their opponent was already in the process of pulling their whip back. The crack that followed brings with it a small gust of wind that puts some distance between them. Not that this stops the grunt from running back. "Sorry about this."

The grunt goes in for another swing, only to stop mid-swing. Throwing the rod to his other hand, he goes for a low blow. Well, a lower blow than normal for a halfling.

"You little…" Madame muttered, electricity coursing through her body at the moment. It hurt like hell and the thief crumpled to the floor. Did give them a wonderful view of Kollmon at the moment, who had a gray outline around them at the moment.

"Infuse!" the mole digimon announced and made a beeline for the grunt. "Shade!"

**Shade Claw!**

A swipe follows, with Kollmon managing to make contact with the opponent. But when the grunt turned to take a strike, they are able to easily retalli-

Or not, since that's just a copy of her. Wait. Then where's the real Kollmon then? Don't tell me.

"Surprise!"

Appearing behind the grunt, an attempt at backstabbing occurs. Thankfully, our thief here has just recovered and able to show this amateur how it's done. A bit on the vicious side, though.

"I'm sorry. Loose lips sink ships." Madame explained, dragging the body off to the side. "I'll have someone close to me take this off our hands."

Kollmon nodded, watching Madame head over to the entrance. They motion the mole to follow, switching back to their lady guise.

"I'm like totally ready to go." she explained and the duo headed through.

"Princess!"

* * *

Notes:

A bit of a harder chapter, but fun to write all the same. Especially with Madame's pronouns. Don't think this will be the last time it'll come up.

.

Next Time: That's our team. At least for the moment.


	7. Madame does not play well with others

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Madame was ready to curse her luck. After such a wonderful streak earlier, the pendulum was bound to swing the other way. Usually, not as quick as today. Her best streak was a couple weeks. But that had been ended by a bout of the flu. That got to suck. Had a bout a couple years ago. Was absolutely the worst to deal with to an extent. Stuck in bed, with no one really to come visit me. All I really had to entertain me was work. It was my last year of school too. At least it all eventually blew over. Did get a lot of work done and I was able to finish out my essay.

Of course they had found out her hideout. That could be dealt with in some fashion. Possibly even moving everything they had some other day. But then there was... him of . First he showed up at the hotel. That could just be chalked up to pure coincidence. All sorts of characters could be found there. This second appearance (so far) was a massive problem. Hard to let go and free yourself when the very temptation is right in front of you. Life is sometimes unfair in that regard. In Madame's case, unfairly so (supposedly).

"Princess!" Bubbles shouted, making a beeline for the thief. Stepping to the right, they attempt to stay out of the dragon's grasp. The first couple attempts are actually successful. But eventually, a claw carefully grabbed hold of a petticoat. "Bubbles. Name?"

Madame didn't answer. Instead, they pick up the young dragon. It's almost surreal just looking at the pair. Part of the thief felt disgusted, frustrated to an extent. Of course the dragon saw her as one of those stupid damsels who always seem to get captured. But one so young, this could be of use. Could do without the glare from their partner.

"So you want to be a princess, dear?" Madame cooed, watching Bubbles's eyes light up. Hook, line and sinker, the thief cracked a smile. "I can make you one."

Bubbles's eyes grew even brighter. Which made Yvonne's approach all the more clearer. Though, she does stick out like a sore

"Ahem." the barbarian greeted, warhammer at the ready. At this point,, Madame needed to finish the deal or perhaps die trying. Or perhaps leave the little dragon something more. "As much as I appreciate your want to help my friend out, you're not quite the most trustworthy person."

Madame rolled their eyes. Why were people so difficult at the moment? Progress was being made and now people were trying to pull them back. Could they at least make up their minds at some point. Would be quite helpful if they reached such a point. Not very unlikely, sadly.

"I have no id-"

Yvonne's warhammer gets within inches of the thief, as if she knows something of note. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. I'm taking notes as I go, writing down all the questions I have and the theories that might be true. Might not be. Kind of the fun of my job. Not that I think the same could be said about Yvonne at the moment. Probably the opposite. Even though I'm having to read her emotions through her helmet.

"Ms Strauss, please don't make me go to her."

Madame just rolled her eyes. While the person in question was no mystery to her (kinda), that didn't change the threat one bit. Even if they were to act, they wouldn't just get up and bring the hammer down. No, temptation would be employed and then the big guns would be brought out. By that point, the problem would be solved and anything after that point is collateral.

"I could make a couple succubi and orcs disappear. Take their valuables, possibly you as well." the thief threatened, only to have a turret facing them down. A deep breath follows, with her choosing to bring out her whip. Which in turn, got Blaze to bring out his scimitar. "I get it. I'm on your people's bad side. But I suspect we all need to work together here."

The digimon looked among each other. Looks like they're all in a mood of some kind. Not entirely sure why. Maybe they feel underrepresented? A possibility, but not likely. More that they haven't had enough time to really process what's really going on at this point.

"She (well, not quite a she) like, killed a guy." Kollmon whispered and did a hop away from their partner. "They're a mess. I hope they're alright."

A look away followed, especially when Madame went in for a kick. They missed, which might be for the best at the moment. Mostly because our one stray grunt had noticed them and was making a reluctant approach. He didn't look too happy. Especially when all your teammates have been systematically steered off and you haven't had a bite to eat. The latter is an easy problem to solve. Former sadly, not so much.

"May I at least have my teammate's body, please?" they remark, trying their best to emote behind a blank mask. For such a challenge to face head-on, they're making quite an effort. Makes you feel bad for them to an extent. Probably has a name and a life beyond this little slice of something or other. Even willing to lay down their life for an organization that possibly gives zero shits about them. Oh that went kind of dark. Sorry about that. Not my intention. "I just want to take his belongings and find a place so he can be properly laid to rest."

Madame just rolled her eyes. As for 'they' (the other personality), it was more of just frustration within. Their 'companions' noticed it as well, weapons raised just slightly higher up. As for Bubbles, he was finally let down and playing with his princess dolls.

"Bubbles princess now!" he proudly announced, oblivious to the fact that isn't how such a process works. Eh. I'll let this fly. "Thoughts, Hilda, Blance?"

He shifted the dolls to face him. A curtsy follows. Well, as best a curtsy you can get with two dolls and what I can only assume is an invisible dress. I think.

"Yay!"

His teammates focused in on him. While they say not a word, it's quite obvious that they're all out of their element in this moment. Don't blame them for having such feelings.

"Hey." Blaze remarked, one of the first to approach the dragon. "Right now, we can't be playing. Maybe in a little bit."

Bubbles gazed towards the street. His coronation had just occurred, but the boy did have a point.

"Promise?" he whispered, holding a claw out. Blaze turned to Yvonne. The barbarian just nods, watching the fighter attempt a pinky promise. Not half bad, but there has to be an easier solution. Possibly something involving their digimon partners.

"You going to be alright?" Balamon whispered, watching Phusitmon look away. While all in this together, it was becoming quite clear that growing pains were on their horizon. Like or not, they were going to be a team. Of what caliber, remains to be seen.

"I hope so." the rabbit digimon answered and climbed up onto Bubbles's back.

"You still haven't answered my question." our unlucky grunt announced, taking a cautious step back in the hopes of not being torn to bits by way of Ella's turret. Even if said weapon looks just about ready to accidentally discharge a round and blow up on the artificer. "I just want my friend's body and his possessions. That's it."

Madame rolled their eyes.

"What's it worth to you?" the thief muttered, only for the grunt to sigh. Especially when Yvonne finally pulled her warhammer back and let the weapon sit by her side. Blaze did much the same, taking a step further and sheathing the sword.

"This is all I have."

Digging into their cloak, a bag of something comes out. The grunt holds it out, watching it get snatched up by Madame.

"That's good enough." they muttered, the other part hoping for even more gold in the process. Still they accept the bribe and makes their way down. A couple minutes later, she and Kollmon return with the body. Though now, Madame is in her jumpsuit and trying her hardest to pull. So Yvonne and Blaze walk on over, Ella and Bubbles taking the rear for this moment. But not before Bubbles slipped his dolls back into his bag and putting them to bed. Can't forget to do that.

"Would you like some help?" Ella inquired, getting a groan in return. Nonetheless, they all took a part. For better or worse. The body does get to its dedicated person.

"You saw nothing." Madame announced, a sigh following their statement. Yep. Their luck was definitely in the toilet. No way that this could get worse to an extent. It could, but neither personality wanted to put any thought to such feelings. Nonetheless, the grunt took a deep breath and began to search his friend. Tears rolled dropped to the pavement.

"You going to be alright?" Munbimon inquired and got a nod. She returned it with a deep breath. "You don't sound alright though."

The grunt sat down, setting the body beside them.. They remove their mask, revealing that of a man. He's a bit on the older side - late 60's, maybe even 70's. What hair he may of had is long gone now, replaced with long gray whisps at best. Leathery skin and faded eyes were the first things on display, with what look to be dentures. Or perhaps just false teeth.

"You probably want an explanation of some kind, don't you?"

All five humanoids nodded. Bubbles on the other hand, just took a seat by the old man. In turn, that resulted in a pat on the head. The dragon accepted the gesture, even if it did seem rude to do a princess. That could be a bygone though.

"If you could." Blaze remarked and looked over to Yvonne. "Was that out of turn?"

The barbarian shook her head. Right now, it didn't really matter who asked (outside of Madame), so she let it slide. Her attention was split between the grunt and Madame at the moment, making sure that they didn't do anything stupid. The thief noticed the attention on them at the moment. They just shrug and ignore them. No use in poking the already enraged orc any more than she already had at this point.

"I and the rest of my teammates are part of a group called Distant Harmony." the man explained, taking a deep breath right after. "Basically, we were supposed to demoralize you all in the hopes that you would give up in your journey and let our boss destroy your world."

The moment that sentence ended, our heroes (minus Bubbles) fell over. Not for dramatic effect, more because their heads were having a bit of trouble what their ears had just heard. While the possibility of such destructive forces possibly existed in this world, throwing such a goal out felt almost impossible.

"If they're capable of destroying this world, why haven't they done it?" Yvonne remarked, helmet off once more. Much better. In return, she got a deep breath. Attention finally slipping away from her opponent, she let be on that of their 'guide'. Yeah, guide probably works best in this situation.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest with you." the grunt answered, removing his companion's mask as best he could. Eventually, the cover comes off and reveals that of an elven man. Tears roll down, but those get wiped away. "If I had to guess, the weapon or perhaps even this 'tool' needs to charge up. Perhaps my employers wish to give these people a chance."

Another deep breath, followed by the moving of the cloak.

"You would probably need to ask one of the higher-ups." they continue, only for the cackle of electricity to pass through the air. The flinging of a rod followed. A direct hit, the target slumps to the ground.

"What a shame." a voice announced and our heroes gazes found their way down the road. A figure dressed in a tunic stood before them. Unlike the grunts seen so far, not a blank mask covered their face. No, they wore the mask of that of a statue's head. Chiseled and bronze, the sort that scholars would study out in the world. Why does something tell me he's more of the destructive type? "Oh. Perhaps I should introduce myself."

Weapons back in hand, our heroes took a step forward.

"You may call me The Artisan." this strange figure announced, a cackle following. "Oh. A fight you want? Sadly, today's not that particular day."

He teleported away right after, as if to mock them for their supposed failure. Though, they were more focused on the hurt grunt.

"Just bury us." the grunt whispered, watching Bubbles slowly approach. A very small cluster of green particles. It isn't enough. Seconds later, the grunt expires. Kind of anticlimactic, to be honest with you.

Yvonne sighed and grabbing both bodies. In between Madame and this 'Artisan' person, today was going just wonderfully. Definitely not how she was expecting things to go, such a change wasn't bad though. Especially since the graveyard was not that far away.

"Let's go."

What followed, was our heroes grabbing the other body and beginning the journey towards the graveyard.

"I'm sorry about this." Madame announced. Yvonne didn't even turn around. Wasn't much of a reason too. The apology was more of a smoothing over at this point. The damage already caused between them, a bandage to hold in the innards for the healing spell that eventually follows. What? Wizards are sometimes complete shit at analogies. We're used to it. All the other classes have their own sets of phrases, some good, some… not as much.

"Sure you are." the barbarian muttered, the graveyard now in view. "Maybe your actions will strengthen that mouth of yours."

An eye roll is all she gets.

"What's our plan for after this?" Balamon asked and got a deep breath from Blaze. He gazed over to Yvonne, only for everyone's stomachs to rumble. I guess that answers the snake's question.

"Burial, then lunch." Yvonne continued, getting a nod from both in return.

.

"Polias, they've been warned."

A figure took a sip from their wine glass and stood up. Before him, a group of figures had gathered. The culmination of the last couple years of worlds that would soon be on the chopping block - next in line to be destroyed. But they knew that. He doubted they wouldn't have come to his side had they not known that.

The Artisan took a seat, getting joined by what looked to be a scorpion of some kind. He gave it a slight pet, though it looks more like a pound of sorts. His motion catches the attention of the person to his left, who towers quite a bit over them. Doesn't explain why there's so much artificial darkness in this one room. There's no way that is the result of natural lig-

Polia looked up to the ceiling and snapped his fingers. I guess he doesn't want me here (indirectly). Or something like that. Though, that doesn't explain having a person in a corner.

* * *

Notes:

Compared to the last chapter, this was a lot harder to write. I made an effort to keep Madame's 'angst' to a minimum. Though, some did probably sneak it's way in. For now at least, this is our team. Of course, there is one more. But we haven't quite reached that point.

.

Next time: Talking amid the dead.


	8. Graveyard Chat

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Okay, back to our heroes.

Aldia's one and only graveyard was much like graveyards you find on other worlds - empty and quiet. Not that those two things are bad. Far from it. Being able to tell the world to go away and be alone with your thoughts is a good coping method. Especially when you have two dead bodies to bury and a whole bunch of frustrations between each other. Well, it was something like that a groundskeeper once told me. He was a great guy - as two-headed dogs acting as a land janitors can possibly be. Oops, tangent.

As for our heroes at the moment, they definitely look like they need a pick-me-up. Sure, it was awesome to now know the identity of the mysterious organization they would be facing. The arrival of this Artisan dude wasn't as great. If anything, it capped off what had so far been a crazy and wild day. The sort that most of them have possibly never have experienced in quite a while. Possibly at all.

"Do we want to introduce ourselves?" Munbimon explained and got a groan from everyone involved. Their frustration already clear, this suggestion was just further salt in the wound. Not that was really that hard to do currently. "Or do we just want to talk about this?"

Silence was all the ghost monkey digimon got. So she shut her mouth. Especially as they were searching for an empty pair of plots at the moment. Of course,

"Princess?" Bubbles inquired, tugging on Madame's garment. While the thief wasn't really responding to the dragon's calls, he wasn't going to give up. Especially after the failure to revive that man. What would they think of that. Sure, this was his first day on the job as a priest. The job expectations can't be too high, right? That sort of thing is better for the second day.

"What?!" the thief screeched, picking up the dragon. "This better be good."

Bubbles looked away. Possibly, he had hoped to have a nice conversation with them to get a better grasp. Of course, Madame was in a mood and she didn't want to play with others.

"Friends?"

A slap, followed by spitting on the ground. If anything, I think our dragon friend was caught by complete surprise. When your life consists of just playing down in the sewers with a pair of princess dolls,

"We are not friends." she muttered, catching the attention of everyone once more. Please, get your stuff together. I get it. This isn't the situation and demons you were expecting to face. That's just how life works. Your choice, but time is running out to decide. "Why don't you go run home to your mommy?"

Bubbles froze, gaze dropping to the grass for the moment as eyes slam shut. Images obscured by 'snow' flicker through his little head. A dragon stands before the altar. They look to be on their last legs more or less. Scars and wounds travel about every inch of their body, some which are beyond saving at this point.

"Bubbles dear, mommy has to go and do something very important." the dragon explains, fighting back the tears as best she could. It doesn't look like she's winning that battle. Not one bit. Her attention shifts to the altar itself. "Oh great deity, I have just one wish for you."

A deep breath. The Bubbles confused by what was even going on. Where was mommy going? Would she come back? Why was she talking to this strange piece of metal.

"In exchange for my energy, I ask of you to take care of my son, Bubbles."

The altar glowed, the dragon setting a claw down. She gives her child one last glance.

"Bubbles, I need you to stay down here for now." the dragon mother whispered, tears now out in full force. "The deity will help raise you. I'm sorry."

Her body began to flicker. As ways to leave this world go, perhaps this is one of the most noble but at the same time, absolutely awful for all involved.

"Mommy?" Bubbles called out, eyes swinging back open. Back in the graveyard, his gaze was still focused on the dirt and grass. Though, his actual friends had noticed the commotion and had come to his aid.

"Bubbles, are you alright?" Phusitmon inquired, taking the time to pet his partner's head. The dragon accepted the gesture. Even if he would've preferred it from someone else - like Madame.

"Hey. I was just telling it like it is." Madame muttered, catching a look from Ella of all people at the moment. "What?"

The artificer let out a sigh, resisting the urge to sic her turret on the thief.

"He's a child, Madame." she announced and watched Madame roll her eyes. "I've just got back into town. Expecting him to somehow be the most refreshed out of all of us is absurd."

Madame made their way over, having mostly abandoned the prospect of carrying the dead body at this point. Which just left Blaze carrying it. While the fighter didn't per say, this exercise in team building was less than helpful. Maybe this is just a case of giving them all a bit of time to get their frustrations out.

"He's still a functioning member of the team." the thief countered, looking towards the body. "There's not much use in arguing such schematics. We have two bodies to bury."

They walk back over to Blaze, picking back up their portion. Both Bubbles and Ella do something similar. Begrudgingly, especially after their talk with Madame. As for Yvonne, she was a good distance ahead of them. Thankfully within hearing range. No need for shouting.

"Any luck?" Blaze called out, only for Yvonne to shake her head. After, he focused in on Balamon. "Do you think that you can scout around?"

Balamon nodded, jumping away from his partner and landed safely on the ground. Even in a spot that no one could squish him. Which was even better.

"I'll help too." Cinemon added, joining the snake in the search. "Anything we need to be looking for?"

Yvonne stopped, whispering something into Munbimon's ear. The ghost monkey nodded and glided down to the rest of the digimon. Kollmon and Phusitmon did something similar.

"Can we leave you guys for a little bit?"

Yvonne nodded.

"Just meet back up with us in a little bit." the barbarian announced and got five sets of nods. With that, they headed off.

.

"So, who wants to start off?" Munbimon inquired, one final glance just in case their partners approach. When she was certain that none of them were, it was back to her teammates. No, digimonmates. Scratch that. Digimates? No. Cluster. Yeah.

"Uh… are we certain there all human?" Phusitmon remarked, shooting Bubbles a look. Bubbles looks to be oblivious to this attempt at spying. "I'm fairly certain that one isn't. If he is, then I don't want to see his parents."

A look from Balamon was the plush rabbit's reward. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the nicest thing to say about your partner. Makes that flashback from earlier hurt even that much more. Let me grab a tissue. Aw, here they are. Now I can do this.

"Yvonne is humanoid per say, something similar to a ogremon crossed with perhaps a LadyDevimon?" Munbimon suggested and picked up a rock. Oh. she's of those solid ghosts. Probably so they can a spot to stare towards. "Perhaps a LadySucimon. Even if those are supposedly a myth."

Kollmon's gaze shot on over. Ears unable to believe the words that came out. While sure, the mole was not the educated digimon pre-meteorite. But for such a legendary creature to exist had to be impossible. The ghost monkey digimon must be pulling her leg.

"Wait. There like, real?" the mole digimon inquired, watching the rock bob up and down. Pretty effective method of keeping focus on you. Does raise questions in regards to how Yvonne was talking to her earlier. Not my problem though.

"If we're going that route then, Bubbles's must have a dragon digimon that's like him. Coredramon perhaps?" Phusitmon announced, opinion changing quite quickly. Or just a slight correction. Even then, I don't think any of them really have a clue what they're talking about at the moment. Nor do I really have any clue what these 'mons they've blurted out. The first I have to assume is based off an ogre. LadyDevimon (wait, is the 'd' supposed to be capitalized) I'm going to assume is of similar nature to a nefarious tiefling who I guess is also a refined person? Perhaps they practice proper tea drinking techniques and make sure their husband or wife is always looking their finest. That means a LadySucimon (still not sure on the capitalization) is this idea taken to the extreme. Every action is an act of refinement to the highest caliber. Their significant other (male or female) act much the same way that they do. While some people might laugh at them for that, they don't care. Oops, off track again.

"Which just leaves with Ella and Madame." Cinemon remarked, two glances heading the way of the artificer and thief respectively. Out of all the people on offer, these two seemed like enigmas. Species-wise. First glance would suggest humans of some variety. But their size suggested something else entirely. "Possibly midgets?"

Kollmon shook her head. If that was the case, why did someone like Madame act so oddly? A refined girls in some moments, a trapped person in others. While rumors of humans having a mess of their identity did happen, usually it was a case of righting them to better memories. Here though, where was Kollmon even supposed to begin. Could someone as small as her actually break a circle that's gone on for what seems to be many years. Perhaps decades. Right now, she needed to do everything in her power to get both parts of the thief to an agreement. Somehow.

"You alright, Kollmon?" Balamon inquired, the mole digimon's gaze swiveling over to him. Muttering something under her breath, a nod followed.

"I like think I totally am." she continued, only to catch a look from Munbimon. So the ghost monkey digimon made her way over. A bop from the rock followed. Didn't hurt, but Kollmon now had a large red bump on her head.

"You're most definitely not." Munbimon whispered, watching Kollmon nod. "No matter what transpires, we'll be there for you."  
Droplets fell down to the dirt. Their partner's gaze were now solely on them at this point. So they all picked themselves up and headed on over. While they hadn't found any empty plots,

"So how was your guy's chat?" Ella inquired, a nod from Cinemon being the only response. In return that got the dog cat digimon a pat to the head. Accepted, they did want a belly rub. Aw…

As for the rest of the digimon partners, they took back up their respective places. Munbimon did lose her rock though.

"Like, any luck?" Kollmon inquired, trying her best to hide the tears staining her face. Madame most definitely noticed. Bubbles did as well. Which was all the more reason to pet the mole. "Like, thank you!"

Bubbles nodded. Attention back on Madame, a smile hung to his face. Nothing malicious, just happy. Faced with what's within, the little dragon continued to be happy.

"You're going to be the death of me - one way or the other." the thief muttered, not at all happy to admit that. Try as she/they might, he was on the verge of becoming part of a life that was only meant for one person. It could hold two. "But I'll give you a shot."

Bubbles probably didn't understand one lick of what the thief said. Got the general idea, crystal clear. He's good in that regard.

But right now, their attention now had to be on carrying the dead body. Couldn't be that many more spots to really look. The corner was all they had left to search. Wait. None of them even asked if they could bury just two random people. Perhaps that happened while I was out for a bathroom break. Wouldn't really surprise me. Though, most of these gravestones appear to be unmarked. I guess everyone they have to bury has already been forgotten. Unless… Yeah, that could be a possibility. That's quite an aggressive strategy. I'll just assume they mark the graves with something special. Just in case.

"Here." Yvonne announced and set the body she had been carrying down. Somehow, the barbarian still had her warhammer. Probably used it as a stabilizer of sorts. "Infuse! Spirit!"

She felt her warhammer grow lighter. As feelings went, this was still something to get used too. Nonetheless, Yvonne slammed the weapon down. No echo, just silence. Fitting for the current location, but I can't quite see the purpose. Second swing, the warhammer smashed into the dirt. Did force a couple of them to take a step back.

"Arrrgh." Yvonne snarled, pulling with all her might. But the weapon wouldn't budge. Definitely not the outcome that the barbarian was hoping for. Attention turning to that of her teammates, she motioned for them to participate. Or something like that, judging by them all putting down their dead body.

"Infuse!" Ella shouted, yellow outline already around her. "Spark!"

Turret came out right after, shooting a couple bolts into the dirt. I'm not entirely sure how that's helpful. You could kill Yvonne if you do this wrong. Worms begin to crawl out, doing a strange sort of dance. It's… interesting to say the least. Did get Bubbles focus out of the gutter. Approaching the dirt, a light blue outline wrapped around his body.

"Infuse!" Bubbles announced, tapping his claws on the dirt. While the warhammer was dislodged, the little dragon was now quite deep underground. So he just used his abilities again. This time, he somehow ended up behind the crew. Which meant Madame and Ella had to pull him out.

"You idiot." Madame muttered, doing her best to dust Bubbles off. "You can just go all willy-nilly. Focus and then reach out."

They realize their slip mere moments later, especially since it got them a hug in return. Reluctantly, they hug the dragon back. Felt quite good.

While that was all happening, Blaze stepped up. Feeling the red outline around him, he began to dance.

"Infuse!" the fighter announced, forging his scimitar for the moment. Instead, he managed to find one of his ribbons on him. "Ember!"

What followed, was the wrapping around of the ribbon around the warhammer. A low sizzle sound echoed from the weapon and into the dirt. I hope that's a good thing? Please tell me that it is to some extent.

"Infuse!" Madame announced, letting herself break from the hug. Whip brought back out for the umpteenth time at this point, pulled back for good measure. "Gale!"

Whip met warhammer, grabbing hold and pulling back. This was the tipping point for the weapon. Dislodged from the ground, this was enough to create a hole big enough to bury two bodies. I would raise a 'how', but I'm more impressed in the group's teamwork than anything else. Just one more step - looting the bodies.

"Outside of the coats and masks, there's pretty much nothing on the pair." Yvonne remarked, gazing raising up from the body itself and over to Madame. But she let it go. Right now, there was no use in dwelling in the supposed power of the thief. No, her thoughts were on the figure she had met earlier. Unnamed for the moment, they claimed to be an 'interested friend'. Outside of Marulyn, there wasn't really anyone that she had. Well, not counting her newfound teammates. 'Why' was her biggest challenge at the moment. If that question could be answered, she would be one step closer and possibly finally be able to return the bear. "Ready to bury them?"

The barbarian's companions nodded, watching her drop the first body in. The second body followed right after, with dirt covering both. As for tombstones, there really wasn't one. But I'll assume that there isn't much rain here. Or really any traffic to the graveyard in general. Might even be a case of both. Not that our heroes were really in the mood to discuss it. No, they were more focused on getting some lunch. Fair enough.

* * *

Notes:

Are there easier ways to dig a hole? Absolutely. But this was the fun way. With a bit of drama for good measure.

.

Next Time: Let's have a nice wonderful meal.


	9. Getting to know you

I don't own digimon.

* * *

With the bodies now buried, the question of where to eat remained. Sure, they could go back to the black cat inn. But that would mean having to clean up the damages done earlier by the grunts. So our heroes made the short walk back to that district. No words really said, the sound of footsteps the only real sound. Outside of Yvonne debating on whether or not to put her helmet back on. A decision process that eventually resulted in said helm being left off for now.

"Any suggestions, Madame?" Blaze inquired, watching the thief switch back to their 'lady' form. To make sure a certain someone didn't get any ideas, she held Bubbles's hand. Not that the dragon really minded. Sure, Madame's hand was kind of cold. That just meant he would need to warm it up. Nicely.

Sadly, no answer exited the thief's lips at the moment. So Yvonne made her way over and picked them up. This came as a complete surprise, judging by the swinging of arms and legs at the moment. Not that Yvonne really seemed to care.

"Is that better?" the barbarian remarked, feeling her armor clang against Madame's footwear. As feelings go, not the worst thing inflicted to her. More, it was on the tail end of annoying. Like child screams. Except amplified at one of the annual clan gatherings. Yes, (nearly) everyone was supposed to be there. But she kinda felt bad for the younger children. While most orcs, succubi and their beloved made an effort to get out of their homes, it was a bit harder for the children. In between homeschooling and their parents work at times, little time was left for them to be on their own. Which was where she came in. As the 'appointed' guardian of the alleyways, she played her hardest with the kids. All while making sure the peace was relatively kept within. Or something like that in preparation of her eventually becoming chieftain. Or something like that. Yvonne wasn't entirely sure what awaited her there in the future. "Could you please stop that?"

Madame rolled her eyes and delivered another kick. Her opponent didn't flinch. If anything, they were resisting the urge to go for a punch for just offering a higher view point. Hunger seemed to be winning out over pain, but not for much longer.

"How about the place over there?" Ella suggested and pointed to a ramshackle building. Well, ramshackle was probably pushing it. Charming was a better term here. Sure it looks like the building could come down at any moment, but that's half the fun of eating at such places. Today might be your lucky day or might not be. You never know until you step on through. Or something like that. Kind of like... Evocation. Oh yes, that weird group of magic that just doesn't know what it wants to be. Some are in it to heal people, others to cause pain and destruction. A weird juxtaposition, you actually end up with a lot of performers. You would think that a whole lot of them would be sculptors or demolition experts, but I guess that isn't people's style. Even if some of them would be perfect for it. Had to help run one of their meetings the other day. It felt like I was at one of circuses. You know, those groups that travel all around the country? Something like that. Except we're all in a school for mages. And not, I don't know, Bards. Like seriously, why are they the ones who get to have their fancy-smancy colleges? Sorry. I got off on another tangent. While I have nothing against bards, it's still just a teensy bit unfair they get to call their schools 'college'.

"Sounds good to me." Yvonne remarked, another clang to her armor following. So the barbarian grabbed hold of her passenger and set them down. While she wanted to add in a smart response of sorts, she was too hungry to really come up with one. "I'll pay."

Madame still rolled their eyes. More because they got on everyone's nerves than anything else. After, she grabbed hold of Bubbles's hand. Warmth still present, he was a touch confused by what had just happened. Don't really blame him. Maybe he'll get it when he's older or something.

"Sorry about that." the thief whispered, the grip between them warming up slightly as the group made a beeline for the eatery. On closer inspection, it appears unlikely that such a structure would collapse on you without warning. Why else would every wall look to have supports attached to the pathways? Maybe.

Inside, the place was pretty basic. Just a bunch of tables lined up with benches to sit on. At least they made sure to give room between the benches. The kitchen where I work didn't understand that concept. They also don't understand why everyone leaves after getting their lunch or dinner. The meals served are rarely good to begin with. Hopefully our heroes getting something that actually tastes like an ounce of anything had been put into it.

"Welcome to the Shaky Walls Cafe." a voice greeted as our heroes entered. On closer inspection, they appear to be a succubus. Still weird seeing one not trying to flirt with everyone and get. As for her outfit, we got a green pinafore with a white apron and a set of flats. Blonde hair and emerald eyes add to the look, even if she was a bit on the shorter side compared to those we saw earlier in the alleyways. Dang. It's been quite a day so far. Can't be that much more that can be packed in at this point.

"Oh Yvonne! What a pleasant surprise."

Yvonne took a deep breath, handing over helmet to Blaze. After, the barbarian approached the waitress. A deep breath followed, gaze right on her.

"Hi Marigold." she greeted and dug into her armor's secret compartment. A teddy bear came out. None worse from the wear. Hopefully. "By any chance could you get this back to your daughter?"

She held the bear out, only to receive a confused look in return. It made no sense to the barbarian.

"Aren't you living with her at the moment? Wouldn't it be easier and dare I say, far more romantic to just deliver it back to her?" Marigold explained, watching her guest fall over. She held a hand out, helping Yvonne back up. "It's okay if you have a crush on her."

Yvonne's face turned as red as a flame, an attempted exit following. But Marigold was still holding on. Which made it quite a challenge to break away in that regard.

"Or is that not the case, dear~" she cooed and Yvonne looked away. Why was she so insistent that there was something going on between her and Marulyn. In her own eyes, she was as ugly as it got. Bald, cocooned in steel - forever fated to be enclosed most of the time. What if she was somehow wrong about one of those things? Or perhaps this was one of those you're beautiful just the way you are morals.

"Okay. I might have a passing interest in her." the barbarian muttered and watched Marigold perk up.

"You have my blessing." the waitress cooed and watched Yvonne scurry over to a table. A slight chuckle, then she pulled out of a notepad. "The usual?"

All she got was a groan. Which I'm going to take as a yes. Then she swiveled back over to Blaze.

"You're that guy who likes to dance, right?" Marigold remarked and got a nod in return. Followed by red cheeks. Nowhere near as red as Yvonne's face. "Keep up the good work."

Blaze nodded, letting his gaze circle around for a menu. While the place looked sturdy, it reminded him of his own home to an extent. Reminders of Dave flooded his head, in a good way. I think. After lunch he would need to get some dance practice in on top of getting a more concrete living situation for the two of them.

"Do you have menus, by any chance?" the fighter inquired and Marigold pulled one out. Just a single page, enchanted to withstand the wear and tear of people ordering and possibly using it for questionable things. Wouldn't surprise me. She handed it over, watching Blaze examine it for a few moments. "I'll have a salad."

Marigold nodded and was handed back the menu. Which our fighter took as his moment to join Yvonne at one of the benches. After, the succubus turned her attention to Ella. She did make the effort to bend down.

"Checking out the competition now, are you?" the succubus continued and watched Ella take a half-step back.

"What if I am?" the artificer remarked, trying her hardest to stand as straight as possible. It's an alright intimidation tactic. Not sure if it really works on people taller than you. "Personally, I'm only here because my friends got hungry after some stuff happened."

Not the smoothest way to put it. Especially since it brought Marigold's attention over to Cinemon. "Are you a friend of Ella?"

Cinemon looked over to his partner. Were they really friends quite yet? If anything, they had only met a couple hours ago. Acquaintances seems more fitting right now.

"Not quite." he answered, sitting so he could be around Ella's level. "I'm still getting to know her."

The words roll out and Marigold's gaze swiveled over to the dog cat digimon. Then she chuckled. Not the response I was expecting here. I guess this is somehow normal to them?

"I guess you have me beat in that department." the waitress remarked, Cinemon receiving a soft pet in return. Looks like he enjoyed it. "Anything in particular that you desire?"

She handed Ella the menu. The artificer gave it a quick scan, eventually pointing to a set of ribs.

"Wonderful."

Menu handed back, Marigold focuses in on Madame. A look away, followed by a sigh. Unlikely shame, but more frustration.

"Can we get through this without you trying to choke me out, please?" Marigold explained, gaze right on the thief. The look she got in return was not quite the one she expects, or perhaps wanted to see. The mumbling of something followed. More than enough to get a growl from

Madame still put a hand on her whip, only to find Bubbles's hand refusing to let go. They tried to shake free. No budge. So their attention shifted over to the little dragon.

"Princess, mad?"

His remark caught Madame by surprise. Part of them wanted to shove the little dragon and just walk away. The other part just wanted a hug or some form of affection. Neither could decide what they wanted right now. Someone else made that decision for them. Funny how that works.

"Embrace!"

Bubbles wrapped his arms around Madame. Height difference be damned. In return, Madame just stood there. Patiently waiting for her moment to escape. Didn't come for them (sadly).

"I'll just have the usual." Madame muttered, Bubbles finally letting go. After, the gaze of the waitress turned to Bubbles. A deep breath escaped her lips.

"Do you think I can talk to you, little guy?"

Bubbles stared towards her, only to nod. What follows, is the pair heading off to a far-off corner of the eatery. Madame just joined her teammates.

"Talk?" Bubbles whispered, watching Marigold nod. After, she takes a deep breath. There's no good way to explain this to someone so young. But she's going to try anyway.

"Yeah." the waitress remarked, sitting herself down on the floor. "I'm a… 'friend' of Madame's. Kinda."

Bubbles just looked at her funny.

"They're quite fragile. One wrong move and… boom! They fall apart into a million pieces." Marigold continued, taking a deep breath. "When that happens, you need to help them and her put it all back together."

Bubble just nodded and got a slight head pat. He wasn't entirely sure why this strange woman did that, but the gesture was nice. Especially since it gave him an idea. Digging into his pouch, the princess dolls came out. He set them in his lap and lightly tapped their heads. While no sound came out, Bubbles assumed they enjoyed the gesture.

"I'm guessing you like princesses then?" Marigold continued, shooting Madame a quick look. Her hope was that the thief would understand her reasons for doing this. Even if I'm not entirely sure why exactly she's doing this. I get that Madame is supposed to be something inherited. But why exactly? What purpose does having someone like her around serve. Oh well. Question for some other day.

Marigold's gaze returned to Bubbles, who gave the succubus a nod. "Is there anything that I can get you?"

All the succubus got was another funny look from the dragon. A guess could be made in regards to Bubbles's diet, but it's far more likely that he'll eat just about anything put in front of him. Or not.

So she scribbled something down on her pad and carefully took Bubbles's hand. That now settled, Marigold led him over to his teammates.

"Sorry about that." she explained, catching a look from Madame. Which was then followed by her pulling out the whip. But Marigold just ignored it. Instead, her focus was on the digimon at the moment. Probably not the best idea here, whatever works for you? Yeah. Something like that. Especially since none of them have menus currently.

"I'm fine with nearly anything." Balamon explained, slithering down Blaze's arm to be easier to see. "I'll take a plate."

Marigold nodded, attention shifting to Munbimon. I don't think ghosts are ever good customers when it comes to eateries. The whole 'intangibility' thing makes it hard to consume anything. Unless they somehow have ghost food. Wait. What would ghost food look like? General assumptions would be some kind of gelatin, but we can do better than that.

"Pass." Munbimon explained and Marigold moved over to Phusitmon. As tempting as making the obligatory pun might be for some, not me. He's hasn't cotton the fever for food. In retrospect, that sounded better in my head. Definitely going to stay away from puns once more.

Nonetheless, it was now Kollmon's turn to order. Not entirely sure what a mole of all things would want to eat really. Dirt? No, that those supposed house creatures that exist out on some backwater world. Capable of holding massive groups of adventurers all while being the size of a large creature. Sort of thing that scholars debate endlessly for some reason over their insane top speed. Oh right. Where were we? Yes. Ordering food.

"Do you like by any chance, have some worms and insects?" the mole digimon remarked and got a head shake from the waitress. "Oh. I'll be totally fine then."

Having just said that, she found Madame's attention now on her. Thankfully, the thief decided to put their weapon down."Hey. I'll like chow down when you're not looking."

That guarantee wasn't enough for the thief, grumbling something under their breath. She gets up on her tippy toes and turned to face her partner.

"You'll eat whatever I give you." she snarled, catching a look from Bubbles. He got ignored. Not that the dragon really seemed to mind. "If you're still hungry, then maybe you can have some."

Okay. Was not expecting her to say it like that. That works too.

"Like, understood." Kollmon muttered and shifted her sitting position, trying her best to see over to the rest of the digimon. Nonetheless, Marigold slips the pad into her dress.

"I'll get those orders in." Marigold explained and made her exit. But not before throwing a wink Yvonne's way. The barbarian let out a groan, head buried in her gauntlets. Helmet did make it to the table. So there's that going for them.

"So how do you know Marigold?" Ella inquired and Yvonne sighed. Pulling her head back, she focused in on her teammates.

"She's the mother of Marulyn, my roommate/girlfriend." she explained, bringing the teddy bear out and setting it within the helmet itself. Kind of scary. But not really. "She let me borrow her teddy bear and I've been trying to get it back to her."

A chuckle echoed out from the kitchen. An unseen gauntlet shake is all that comes out that remark.

"Sounds rough." Blaze remarked, attention shifting away from the barbarian and over to Bubbles. "Can I ask you something?"

The dragon nodded. Though he was knee-deeping in crafting his next story with his princesses. Rather than, I don't know, anticipating his next meal.

"What were you trying to do with the bodies before we pulled them to the cemetery?"

Bubbles stared down at the table. Then it was back to his teammates.

"Heal." he whispered, a little clump of green appearing in his hand. As quickly as it appeared, the clump vanished. "Nothing left."

Everyone's gazes turned to Madame. Who just shrugged. Though within, part of her was ready to go on another rant about secrets to keep. But it was held in.

"Okay. Maybe I messed that up." the thief remarked, feeling a claw on her at the moment. They ignored it for the time being. Probably helped that their food was on the way and they didn't need to fill the space with conversation.

"Here you guys go." Marigold explained and began placing down plates in front of our heroes. Starting with Yvonne, we have a plate of eggs, bacon and… lettuce? Okay. Two of those three fit. Not sure what lettuce has to do with this. Especially since Blaze's salad looks to have lots of strange green leaves that I don't quite recognize. Maybe those are in the same family as the lettuce.

"Thank you." Blaze remarked as Marigold set down Ella's plate. Was not expecting ribs. Probably coated in a sauce that uses booze as one of it ingredients. Since you know, dwarves and stuff. She even brought an extra one for Cinemon to have. How nice of her.

Which brings us nicely to Madame. Who got a pile of what can only be described as mush. Yeah. I'm not entirely sure that's even edible. Or tasty, really. Makes Bubbles's sandwich all the more perplexing. What exactly does this woman have planned? Couldn't tell you myself.

Marigold walked off, leaving our heroes to chow down. Except for one.

"Yuck." Madame thought, poking the gloop with her spoon. A 'gloop' sound followed, the contents looking ready to bubble up. "How is this the usual sh- I mean I would order?"

So the thief let their focus turn to Bubbles. Currently poking his sandwich, his dolls had been put back to bed.

"Could we… trade?" she whispered and watched the dragon nod. The swap that follows is pretty obvious. Not that anyone really cares. What is an issue (for Madame at least), was the unwillingness to use a spoon. "Don't bury your face into it. Use a spoon."

She held a spoon out, placing it in Bubbles's hands. While he gets the general idea of the utensil, he's not quite there.

"Just grip it and scoop." Madame continued, helping the dragon grab hold and pushed the device down into the goop. Of course, the actual process of getting the food to Bubbles mouth was a bit of a challenge. But eventually, he did get the hang out of it.

Madame finishes the sandwich in a couple bites, with Ella and Cinemon finishing around the same time. Yvonne took a bit longer with Blaze of all people choosing to take his time when it came to salad eating. Had nothing on Bubbles's goop though. Quite a bit after the fighter finished the last bit of veggies, the last spoonful went into the dragon's mouth. A hug to Madame followed.

"I'll pay." they muttered, setting down some coin in the process. After, it's back to her teammates. "Meet back up at the black cat inn tomorrow?"

Judging by the nods, they were all in agreement. So she and Bubbles made their exit. Ella followed right after.

"Do you want any help with Marulyn?" Blaze inquired and watched Yvonne shake her head. With that, he and Balamon made their exit.

Grabbing her helmet and the bear, she got ready to go. Effort was made to make sure Munbimon was on her back. No, I will not make the obligatory pun.

Yvonne and Munbimon followed right behind. Maybe this time, the barbarian would find her. She knew it.

* * *

Notes:

Overall, this was a bit of a challenge to write. Mostly because a lot of this chapter was just editing it while writing it. Outside of that, lots of setup and some changes for the long term. That's just life.

.

Next Time: Well... We're totally a couple. Maybe.


	10. Totally Not Not Girlfriends

I don't own digimon.

* * *

The walk back to the alleyways was quite silent for Yvonne and Munbimon. Not because of any lack of voice, more the result of Munbimon intent on gazing everything over the streets of Aldia.

"It's quite a town." Munbimon remarked and began the descent back down. Her partner came to a stop, allowing for the ghost monkey digimon to land comfortably on her shoulder. "Why do you and your people limit themselves to just a set of alleyways?"

Yvonne took a deep breath and maneuvered Munbimon to face her.

"Mostly space." the barbarian explained, scanning the rooftops for anything suspicious. Hoping for perhaps the figure from earlier, she kept her expectations considerably low. Judging by the real lack of anything other than roofing tiles at the moment, maybe this was somehow too high of a bar set.

So she let her focus return to her partner for now. "We're not as long-lived as say, a halfling or elf."

A confused look was the response back. Doesn't bode well in the slightest in my book.

"Orcs live a meager 40 years." Yvonne continued, letting out a deep breath. "We're kind of expected to not make it all the way - dying by battle or injury."

A ghostly paw 'rubbed' against her face. It felt odd, but not the worse thing felt today. Did bring her a question. An honest one, possibly lacking an answer. But one worth asking nonetheless in this situation.

"Munbimon, did you start as a ghost or did that happen later in life?" she inquired, feeling her partner scurry up her arms and back onto her left shoulder.

"The former." she answered, looking towards Yvonne's empty hands. "Uh… what happened to your warhammer?"

It took a couple seconds for the barbarian to realize what had happened. It was obvious what had occurred, didn't change the fact that she had made such a mistake in the first place. Turning around, she broke into a full-on dash. This had not been her intention to leave such a weapon behind after the burial. In between seeing Marigold and the events that had transpired earlier, she felt like she was running on empty - emotionally. Once she had her warhammer back in hand, they would head home and just… relax. If luck was possibly on her side, she would find Marulyn and maybe get to the bottom of this. If not, she would try tomorrow. Maybe. She was almost tempted to just keep the bear for herself and give it a name. Snuggles? No, too silly. Bob? Eh.

"Watcha doing?"

Of course, now seemed to be the moment that someone would notice her now. In this case, Yvonne and Munbimon were now facing down an elf. While shorter than Yvonne, she makes up for it in her average bust and fiery eyes. Why else would Yvonne be sweating bullets at the moment? Or perhaps that was the result of something else. As for her garb, we have the traditional robes of a mage of some kind. Though, I can make out some form of light armor underneath. Of course, the scent of cherries was in full effect here. Expected really, even sporting the blossoms in her short auburn locks.

"Uh… Do you want your be-"

Before Yvonne had a chance to finish, the elf walked over and took a deep breath. A slap followed. No broken hands, thankfully. That would've been awful.

"No 'Hi, how have you've been?' or 'Sorry about missing you after so many months?, Yvonne?" the elf announced, stripping Yvonne of her helmet. The teddy bear remained in the secret compartment. Right now, that was the least of the barbarian's worries. No, she needed to mend the bridge she accidentally set aflame. Talks of teddy bear ownership could come later.

"You're right, Marulyn." Yvonne remarked, letting her gaze fall upon her 'girlfriend'. She wanted to curse the encounter at the restaurant, to cast it out and start from that point once more. Memories and experiences doesn't work that way. Just one teensy mistake did not make something bad. Unless it started a chain of events. Then maybe. "Hi. How have you been the last couple months?"

Marulyn looked away. I guess this hadn't been her intention to meet her girlfriend today of all days. Hmm… Yeah. That's probably it.

"Uh… pretty good." the elf remarked, Yvonne's gaze even more intent on her. "Something wrong?"

Yvonne took a deep breath of her own.

"In a field of lilies, with a bowlful of cherries." she announced, Marulyn's face going white. Muttering something into the silence, she dashes off. But not before dropping Yvonne's helmet. Which was quite nice of her, counterbalanced by her running off to who knows where. She doesn't even slip the headgear back on, letting her partner wear it. "Marulyn, come back here!"

Marulyn doesn't answer, well within hearing range currently. Silence did all the talking for her.

"Is she always like this?" Munbimon whispered, getting what she could assume to be a head shake. Kind of hard to tell when you're sitting on the person's shoulder on top of wearing a helmet. A deep breath followed.

"If she is, I wouldn't really know." Yvonne answered, making a right and doing her best to keep the pace up. In between the armor, Munbimon and the 'exercise' earlier, she had to be at her limit. But the barbarian kept pushing. Please don't collapse from exhaustion.

Nonetheless, the shortcut did pay off for the barbarian. Somehow, she managed to close the distance between her and the elf. A perfect opportunity to make a move of some kind. Doesn't even have to be romantic. Actually, scratch that.

"Gotcha." Yvonne whispered, effort made when she knocked Marulyn to the ground. "Now, can we talk?"

Groaning was all that was offered to her right now. So carefully, she flipped her 'girlfriend' over. All while keeping some sort of grip on the elf.

"It's not ready yet. You jumped the gun on me." Marulyn muttered, cheeks rosy red now. "A kiss would totally make up for this~"

The elf got a double take. She chuckled and somehow managed to tap the barbarian's nose. Which got a face even redder than her own. Don't blame Yvonne for feeling that way. I would too, if I'm being honest here.

"Just kidding." Marulyn continued, the red in her girlfriend's face growing brighter. A light tap from Munbimon eased it up for her. "I don't think either of us are ready for that quite yet."

"Yeah…" Yvonne whispered, letting some her weight off of the elf. But not too much. Don't want Marulyn running off once more. "I saw your mom earlier."

The elf's expression shifted. Gone was the confident woman, the cautious soul taking the place for the moment.

"She always seems to get into everyone's business, doesn't she?" Marulyn muttered, sitting herself up. Yvonne allows it. "Though, I'm guessing she thought we were dating?"

Yvonne looked away. Yep. Definitely cursing the restaurant encounter at this point. Hopefully it doesn't come up in some other way that bites someone else's butt. I just jinxed them, didn't I? Please don't let that be the case.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Marulyn continued, finding the weight on her body a lot lighter. Yvonne had sat herself down, Munbimon doing the same. At least now, the helmet is off and in the barbarian's lap for the moment. "Anything else?"

A sigh, followed by Munbimon pumping her chest. I guess she speaks for herself. Could've at least waited for a proper introduction.

"What's the story behind that monkey of yours?" the elf continued, her gaze split between Yvonne and Munbimon for the moment. Her reaction is much the same as her mother with Cinemon. Is this normal for people in Aldia? When the rooster shouts that it's morning, does he do it with an accent of some kind? That just sounds awful. Not that I'm a big fan to begin with. An alarm spell works just as well for these kinds of situations. Far more predictable too.

"She showed up and said I was needed for something." Yvonne explained, trying her best to pet her partner. The attempt wasn't so successful. "Her name is Munbimon. She's a 'digimon'. Whatever the heck that means."

A nod, followed by chuckle. Not quite the response that the barbarian hoped to hear. But then Marulyn stopped. Much like Yvonne, she went in for a pet. Different person, same result. I guess some things never change. Not that one can blame the elf for being so curious.

After, Yvonne held her left gauntlet out and revealed the D-Venture inset within. Between meeting up with everyone and this point, this still looked the same as when it entered the gauntlet mere hours before. Oh well. Worth checking.

"That's an… interesting device." Marulyn answered, leaning over to take it in. She gives it a slight tap. Nothing happens. Not entirely sure what my expectations for such an interaction. Possibly it would shock her? Yeah. That could be it. I'm no expert when it comes to the matter of these things. Wouldn't surprise if those Distant Harmony people had some more concrete idea on the matter than I did. "What does it do… exactly?"

Munbimon gazed up to her partner. In return, she got a nod. So the pair stood back up. Which I guess could come across as antsy. Probably be back down in a second.

"Infuse." Yvonne announced, feeling the outline surround her. "Spirit!"

Without a weapon though, there was little use for the power. Not that there was really a need for one at the moment. Not that her 'girlfriend' had even noticed in the slightest.

"So magic powers then?" the elf remarked, getting a shrug from Yvonne in return. She countered with a sigh, getting ready to ask her next question. "So, where's your warhammer?"

The barbarian sat herself back down. While it was obvious that this would come up eventually, didn't change the fact that she misplaced her weapon.

"In the graveyard." she muttered, gazing out into the distance. Shorter days were on the horizon, but there should be enough daylight to get to the graveyard and back to the alleyways. "If you don't mind, I need to go gra-

Marulyn grabbed hold. A slight tug followed, forcing their gazes back to each other. The next string of words would decide this. Part of her suspected she was playing right into her mother's games. But she didn't care in that moment. They could get to the bottom of that later down the road.

"Why don't we make this a 'date'?" she suggested, Yvonne caught by complete surprise. "Hey. We're already living together. This is just taking it a step up."

Scooping up Munbimon and her helmet, Yvonne let out a groan, cursing the restaurant for good measure. While the possibility of a second date sounded tempting, right now she had so many things swirling around her that something would have to give. Something for later down the road.

"Fine." she muttered, watching Marulyn perk up. "Just this once. Then we'll see."

Free from the elf mage's grip, Yvonne scooped up Munbimon. In turn, Marulyn grabbed the barbarian's helmet. Ideas swirling in her head, she let those thoughts in. Someone did notice her act though. Didn't look too happy either.

"Don't mess with it." Yvonne whispered, gaze already on her date at the moment. Maryuln's mind was already spinning with ideas. Usually something involving summons and the conversion of said summons. The urge to break into a spiel/story is so tempting at the moment. But, I'm holding it in. Unless something comes up later though. Then I will.

"Come on. The idea for a set of living armor based off a succubus is totally amazing and worth the cost." Marulyn countered, getting an eye roll from her girlfriend. Munbimon focused in on her, interest piqued.

"How exactly would that work?" the ghost monkey digimon inquired, watching Marulyn focus in on her at the moment. "I get that these 'succubus' things coexist with your people, but why would shaping one of them into a set of sentient armor help?"

Marulyn's gaze swiveled over Munbimon. A notepad came out. Along with a pencil, of course. Can't forget about that.

"So you're a digimon." the elf mage inquired and watched Munbimon float her way around Yvonne as they walked. "Do others like you exist?"

A nod, followed by a snicker from the ghost monkey. A look from Yvonne brought an end to that tomfoolery. Then it's back to the mage for the moment.

"Yes." Munbimon continued, looking towards the pair. "Most of them are creatures of some kind. Tigers, wolves, T-rexes. Stuff like that."

Silence and confused stares came from both women, hardly believing the words that just came out of the ghost monkey's mouth. Now that's a mystery I would like to know.

"Uh… what's the last one?" Yvonne remarked, trying to picture what this 'T-Rex' would look like exactly. Wait… is this one of those… 'dinosores' things? Somehow related to dragons, but I can't remember in which particular way. Oh well. Probably come up later in some regard.

"Imagine a giant two legged lizard with tiny arms and runs on two legs."

Oh. I was expecting a far more detailed explanation for that. But it works just as well here.

"Are there any humanoids?"

This time, it was Munbimon's turn to look at them all confused. Perhaps she thought the elf had somehow misspoken. But no, that was most likely far from the case here.

"We have stuff like the Ange and Devi lines, but I don't think that's what you want to know." the ghost monkey digimon remarked. "Before this, the only stories of true humanoids are humans."

The graveyard came into view, Munbimon's words echoing about in between the rubbing of pencil against paper. Bright oranges and pinks were already filling the sky, but the purple of night was already fast approaching.

"No elves, orcs or any other races?" Yvonne remarked, watching her partner just nod. Try as she might, this wasn't adding up. While humans were a tenacious bunch, that didn't explain the lack of other races in this other world. Killed? No. Such a war would have not been kept secret. If anything, the whole world would know. Maybe some trace of these 'groups' still existed in written form.

"Correct. It's been kind of a learning process today." Munbimon continued, Yvonne's cheeks flashing red. The expression disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. At least the rest of her face was back to normal by this point. "Sorry if that wasn't helpful."

Marulyn shook her head.

"Not at all." the elf mage remarked, notepad and pencil returning to her robes. "If you remember anything else of note, do tell me. I would be happy to write it down."

She got a nod for that. Which Yvonne used as her opportunity to get some distance from her 'girlfriend'. A breather moment than anything else. Especially with her goal within reach.

"Want to do anything after this?" she asked,watching Marulyn close the distance with relative ease. A shrug served as an acceptable answer. Or would've been, had she found her left hand free.

"Sorry." Marulyn whispered, turning to face Yvonne. A smile hangs on her face, ready for the final leg of the journey. So the barbarian headed off to the back corner of the graveyard. "I'm going to guess that you're not the only one who got one of these digimon?"

Yvonne looked away. Which made the answer all the more obvious to an extent.

"You could say that." the barbarian muttered. "Six of us, including Madame Von Strauss of all people."

Marulyn nodded, pulling her notepad out and scribbled that down. Then it was back to her girlfriend for the moment.

"Oh yeah… her." Maruyln muttered, her turn to stare towards the dirt. "Really that bad?"

Yvonne just nodded. While the barbarian wasn't entirely certain how much she could really disclose to the elf mage. Without the full picture, she was just throwing speculative darts without real cause. An act that could easily easily backfire on her.

"She killed a 'grunt' for finding her 'hideout'." Yvonne explained, words just rolling out with some thought behind them. Not enough to clue in her girlfriend on the bigger picture. "Then she tried to scam out a second grunt, which got them milled as well. Oh, were also supposed to stop said grunt's leader from destroying this world."

Marulyn shook her about for that remark. Partially to make sure the barbarian was alright on top of making coherent sense. She was, thankfully.

"And you didn't, I don't know, tell someone like the mayor?" Marulyn continued, the warhammer finally in sight. "Or is this one of those cases where keeping silent is better for the moment?"

Yvonne took a deep breath. No good answer here.

"The latter, at least for now." she whispered, grabbing hold of her warhammer. Pulling it back, she let it rest on her shoulder. Then it was back over to Marulyn. "Uh… thanks for coming with me."

Red cheeks once more, she watched Marulyn smile. Maybe this 'girlfriend' thing wouldn't be so bad. As long as they stayed away from the intimate stuff. For the moment.

"Of course." Marulyn explained, cracking a wink in Yvonne's direction. She was fine with this. As they made their way back towards the alleyways, the future seemed to have much to behold for them after all.

* * *

Notes:

Yes, I'm going by D&D rulings when it comes to ages of our various races. Makes things more interested when it comes down to the Madame stuff. Probably the biggest challenge this time around was getting the feel of Yvonne and Marulyn's relationship. Awkward, but not too much. This is a pair who are rarely able to see each other, but try to make the most of their time when they do get the chance.

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Next time: Ella tries to sleuth. It sort of works.


	11. Checking In

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Ella made a beeline for the Black Cat Inn from the cafe.

Sure, the lost profits could hopefully be amended over the next couple days. Maybe. Kind of would depend on how much business she could get. If this mess with Distant Harmony dug into her time, then there was a chance of things not going well for her. But that bridge could be crossed when it was reached.

This still left the issue of one Madame Von Strauss. The nerve of that woman to just storm into her show. Sure, it had paid to be prepared for her arrival to an extent with the fake meteorite. But that didn't change the fact that she had just returned from a long business trip. The last thing she needed at this point was some woman (well, they looked like a woman) thinking they were so great and powerful that they could take anything that they want with little to no consequence. It really grinded her gears, refusing to leave her head alone.

"You alright there, Ella?" Cinemon remarked, getting a head shake from the artificer in return. A sigh followed.

"I should just make Madame help me clean up this mess." she muttered, taking a left. That way, she and Cinemon could see the damage caused to the window. Among other things. "Technically, it's her fault that this happened."

Cinemon just rolled his eyes. At most, it was kind of an exaggeration to say that this was all somehow Madame's fault. If it was, then her behavior could be predicted to an extent. But the show earlier seemed to say otherwise. Why else would someone like Bubbles catch her by surprise? Perhaps there was more going on with her. Then there was Marigold's conversation with Bubbles. What was so important that she needed privacy compared to the other conversations? Try as he might, no good answer came to her. So the artificer pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Does Madame come by often to the inn?" the dog feline digimon remarked, focus shifting back to Ella. While he didn't really have a problem with Madame (outside of the whole mess with the grunt and his own inner monologue), having a clearer picture would do both of them some good. Okay, maybe Cinemon would come out ahead in this situation. But that's beyond the point.

"That's the thing." Ella muttered, the window coming into view. While the glass shards brought about by the grunt's departure were minimal at best, this would still need to be repaired. Not that Ella really had the qualifications to do such a task. Maybe a mending scroll for this situation? Or perhaps finding a glassworker and getting a new window tomorrow. "Every time I show off a new invention, she has the nerve to steal it for her personal collection."

Very carefully, she pushed the glass shards into a pile. While not the best way to go about cleaning this (you're risking a massive number of cuts doing it this way), the shards were no longer in the middle of the walkway. One can only hope that no one stepped through while they were away. Or if someone did, they were able to find proper medical attention. I've seen my fair share of accident involving broken vials. That stuff can really hurt you if you're not careful. In between 'entries' (or whatever I'm supposed to call these things), I had the pleasure of monitoring a brewing class. Potions, not beer. Can't stand that stuff one bit. The class was all unruly, so I had to make an effort to keep them all under control while the teacher (an older man) gave the lesson. Wasn't half bad. Up until the class clown had the bright idea of acting like a complete jackass and dropped some gunpowder into their cauldron. The next couple seconds were the make or break moment… The idiot didn't mix it right. Which meant we now had a sentient blob of potion goop intent on telling everyone how it felt (wonderful, but annoyed that people were chasing it at the moment). Especially since the blob took us on a full-on tour of the school. Sure, the chase was surprisingly slow (we were making healing potions for this class). By the time we finally caught the little bugger, classes for the day was just about over. Which meant having to go back to the classroom, clean up this idiot's mess and then run back over to here. I did make sure to have a bite to eat along with some water. I would be an awful narrator if I didn't keep track of my own needs as well as these people.

"Okay. That's one thing down." Ella announced, catching a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye. Her turret came back out, all ready to unload on this mysterious person. But nothing came of it. Kind of rude of them to do that. "Probably nothing."

That mystery unsolved for the moment, the pair made the trek back to the front of the inn. In retrospect, maybe flipping the sign to 'closed' would've done a little bit of good. Or at the very least, resulted in less people inside the inn itself. Though, you would probably be more concerned by the fact that random people were making their way inside and making themselves at home. Can't be that good for business.

"It would seem you're quite popular right now." Cinemon remarked, watching his partner just sigh. They head on through, with Ella taking up her spot at the reception desk.

"I trust that you're all here to check-in?" the artificer inquired, watching the entire crowd approach. The first customer appeared to be would you believe, one of the grunts from Distant Harmony. Maybe you should forgo the mask at least for the moment?

"I would like a room for the night." the grunt whispered, setting down a meager bag of coins. Ella opened the bag up and spilled the contents onto the desk. A head shake followed. Out of all her work stuff, this was sometimes the worst. "Not enough, is it?"

Ella's eyes told the full story. Scooping the coins back up, they all return to the bag. Handing it back, they step away from her desk.

"Could I ask you something?" the artificer inquired and watched her customer stop and turn back around to face her.

"Yes?" the grunt asked, watching Ella take a deep breath. So they prepare for the inevitable question. Perhaps they're more surprised that they aren't getting their ass kicked for their trespassing. Could be a mix of both.

"Does 'the artisan' ring a bell, by any chance?" Ella inquired, watching the grunt's face turn ghostly white. They mumble something under their breath and step back towards the desk. They look around, eventually focusing in on the artificer for the moment.

"What do you want to know?" the grunt whispered, getting a deep breath in return. Ella got out a pad and pencil, focusing back on the grunt.

"Anything that you know, really." Ella whispered. "He showed up earlier and threatened to fight my friends and I tomorrow. Depending on what you tell me, I might let you stay the night."

She watched the eyes of the grunt widen upon hearing that. Quite possible she had just struck the jackpot. Or maybe this was a bridge too far.

"For starters, he was our boss." the grunt started, expression masked for all. Kind of annoying. "Had a grudge with everyone for one reason or another…"

Ella rolled her eyes. If this was how this whole conversation was going to go, it might have been better to keep her mouth shut and just let this idiot walk on out. A lead at this point could give all the edge they need in the face of this coming threat.

"So what exactly did you and your friends do to piss him off?" she remarked, tone of voice almost betraying the way she felt right now. No one else noticed though. Had they, it would've probably scared them off the property. But judging by the face that the unlucky grunt was probably sporting at the moment, that wasn't quite the question he was expecting to be answering today. The answer seemed to be evading him at the moment. Or this was how it usually went. I really hope not.

"Uh… existing? Maybe?" the grunt remarked, looking away after saying that. Definitely not a good answer to such a question. Even if Ella was resisting the urge to bring her turret. Not before asking one more question.

"By any chance were you trying to get the drop on me?" the artificer continued, Cinemon at the ready. Wasn't necessary for the moment, because that grunt was making a beeline for somewhere. Possibly another inn. Or perhaps, somewhere secluded.

"You could've just let them stay the night." Cinemon muttered, a groan being the response. While sure, expecting Ella to just change her ways from justspending a couple hours with him. But a teensy-bit of progress would be nice. Probably asking for too much here. Kind of like assuming a college of invention wizard is somehow an artificer. One, they aren't. Secondly, there's a huge difference of technique and methods between the two. The former's biggest draw is their ability to just pull some magic out of thin air and hope to god that it's the spell you needed but forget to memorize. Just bad wizard etiquette all around. You have one job - casting spells that fit the situation (hopefully). You can't just rely on the forces of luck and/or anarchy, hoping to god it all works out. Strategy, people.

As for the latter, they've been trying to get their curriculum together for the last two years. They all made an effort to be mostly transparent to their prospective students. It's only a matter of time before they'll be ready. I just know it.

Oh right. Back with our pair, Ella scooped up the coin bag left behind and set into what I can only assume is the till. Well, hopefully that's the till. Which prompted the next person to come up to the desk. Would you believe it? It's another grunt. This one at least got a chance to actually emote for a time,

"Uh… could you hide me?" the grunt whispered, looking about the place. When they were certain no one was really watching per say, their attention returned to the artificer. "This crazy snake thing tried to adopt me and now, she wants me to eat a whole rat. A whole rat!"

Ella rolled her eyes. As claims went, this one sounded… believable. While the members of Yvonne's clan attracted a motley crew of strange creatures, she had heard about the snake. But that didn't explain why this person decided this place in particular was the best spot to hang low and hope that the snake lady wouldn't find her. Or why they were all fidgety even while standing in front of her right now.

"I'm going to assume you don't have any money either?" Ella inquired, a reluctant chuckle from the grunt serving as the answer. Not a good sign. "I would make you talk, but something tells me you don't know anything."

The grunt began shaking her head. Perhaps she was searching for an answer to satisfy this strange request. Wait. How did she know to look for an answer. The last grunt made an effort to keep some level of secrecy. Which means…

"As much as I would like to tell you something about my boss, I got nothing." the grunt announced, looking about for an opening. Doesn't look like there is one at the moment. Oops. Should've planned a lot better in that regard.

"Well, all we know was that he was a merchant of death before this." the grunt mumbled, the sound of someone slithering echoing into the Inn. "Something about statues and causing 'accidents'. No one understanding him."

Ella scribbled the information down. While helpful, this told her nothing in regards to weaknesses. Still better than the information the last grunt had to offer her. Not that this was saying much in the slightest. Especially with such big pieces unfulfilled at the moment.

That was the least of the artificer's worries, judging by the end of a snake's tail that had just pierced through the wall of the inn. You would think such a creature would have the common decency to try the front door first. Judging by the rattle at the end the size of a table, that's one big snake. Where the hell does one even keep such a creature? Let alone feed it? Or even love it for that matter? The alleyways? But then you have to deal with

"Hey!" Ella announced, taking the time to deploy her turret. Not entirely sure how much good that will do. For a snake of that size, you would be lucky to even have it notice the projectiles coming yo-

Whipping around with a grace that I don't think Ella or even Cinemon was really expecting, the snake now faced them down. Blind snake lady, to be exact. Fangs flashing their way, the scales around them a beautiful shade of blue.

"Hi…" Ella started, doing her best to keep her focus on their new visitor. But something didn't seem right. If such a beast had just crashed through the side of the building, while hadn't the stained glass fallen down? Better yet, such a large hole should've resulted in the whole front collapsing in. Yet it proudly stood strong to taunt the beast. Nor were any people really running away in terror. Like you think they would. Is this place really that big of a magnet for the weird? Possibly. This isn't it though.

"Cinemon, can you do something for me?" Ella inquired, her partner swiveling to face. Whisperings of something follow. Silence was all I got. Not that they I would really reveal what they said to each other right here. That could be for later. Or not at all. Whatever the case, her partner approached the snake.

**Mewl!**

Without the infusion power, not so threatening of an attack. Can't quite decide on the sound though. Is it more of a bark? A meow? Eh. That's a question for other people to debate later down the road. Right now, we need to get to the bottom of this giant snake. Judging by the way the snake's body was now perfectly still, the jig was up.

"Fire." Ella whispered, aiming her turret towards the still open door. A single shot rang out, but then… nothing. "Thought so."

Dispelling her device, she approached the doorway and took the time to look both ways. Just in case there was somehow one more trap waiting for her outside. There wasn't. So the artificer motioned for her partner to come over.

"I guess your hunch was right." Cinemon whispered, their focus shifting toward the culprits of this strange act. As it would turn out, there had been an actual snake lady. It was just that she was more… human-sized. Her scales shined a shade of dark blue, making her ragged cloak and collar all the more striking. A blindfolded gaze stared at the pair, clawed arms finishing the look. She was joined by a succubus. Much like her companion, she too was wearing a collar. Though, hers seemed to have some kind of diamond studded piece of metal. I guess that's their version of a ring then? I like it. Of course, she too was clothed in rags. Though, hers looked more dirty than that of the snake woman's.

They look more pissed than really malevolent.

"By any chance could we have the girl hiding in your Inn?" the snake woman inquired, Ella taking a deep breath. In between the trouble caused on both ends, the temptation to ask for compensation was quite high. But it drifted away as quickly as it had appeared. Especially with Cinemon silently judging how she was

"Will you make sure to keep her out of trouble?" the artificer inquired, watching the couple look among each other. A nod eventually followed. "You can grab her. I won't stop you."

They watched the pair step on through. There's no real struggle by way of the grunt. If anything, it would seem she had learned her lesson. Hopefully.

"Sorry about that." the succubus remarked, the trio heading off back towards the alleyways. Ella and Cinemon reentered the Inn and took their position.

"So are all succubi here in Aldia like that?" Cinemon asked, a head shake coming as the answer. So he turned his attention over to Ella. While no one else seemed to be willing to check in,

"Some swing more in the direction of males, others both ways." Ella explained, getting a nod from her partner. "From the stories I've heard, they're some weird offshoot one of the actual devil varieties. Who in turn, breeded with Yvonne's people and got us this strange hybrid we have today."

Cinemon shot her a confused glance. He hadn't expected an answer such as the one he had just been given. Made him even more curious.

"Care to divulge your source?" he inquired, but Ella's lips were sealed. "Or is this just a part of the job?"

A chuckle, followed by a smile.

"The latter."

* * *

Notes:

Coming off of Yvonne, I actually had trouble with this one. Mostly just trying to keep the flow going, on top of keeping the plot going. So we have little tidbits on our upcoming villian.

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Next Time: They served their purpose. Not the intended way, though.


	12. Maid this way

I don't own digimon.

* * *

To Bubbles, just getting to see Madame's true abode was unlike anything that he had seen before. Sure, there had been large places in his stories. Nothing on the scale that the thief's home really could hold a candle to those.

Towering up towards the vibrant orange sky, spires and windows lined with bars taunt all below. The walls appear to be carved from stone. They painted it all yellow for some reason. Not sure on the reasoning for that. Maybe to flaunt their wealth in some strange way? Perhaps to scare away intruders? No, that's just silly. Could be a mix of both here.

Finishing off the look of the property is a perimeter of iron bars with pointed tips with a gate. I can understand the concern for safety, but something here isn't quite adding up. But what? Oops. Need to get out of the habit of trying to solve things when I'm just a narrator. Sorry if I just ruined your immersion. Not my intention.

"Big!" he announced, feeling Madame's grip shift. She looked away, letting whispers fall out from her mouth. Most of this place was for decoration. A show of power against the citizens of Aldia - a prison for it's sole defining star.

"Yeah…" they whispered back, leading the little dragon and company towards the gate. Digging into her dress pockets, a key comes out. Slipping it into the door, a slight twist followed. Madame pushed the gate open and allowed for the pair to slip in. A garden awaits on the other side. Well, it looks like this is supposed to be one. Everything here is either overgrown or just dead. Not a pretty state to see an area in. "Maybe uh… later, we can water everything!"

Phusitmon shot the thief a glance. While the plush rabbit could see where this was going, he was really hoping they wouldn't go with the obvious solution. His hands were already full just keeping track of Bubbles. Being used as someone's watering can was not in the card. Or at least he liked to believe it was not.

"I'm not even sure what would give you such wicked thoughts." Madame countered, ignoring the chuckle from Kollmon. They were tempted to just ignore it, but she would have none of it. A regal lady such as herself should be followed by a partner who held up those same standards and went beyond them. "Must you speak like your head is full of air?"

Kollmon stared at the dirt. Why was this lady so adamant in acting the way that she did? Sure, she wasn't perfect. That didn't mean she got stuck and insistent on making things worse in a self-destructive fashion. Okay, maybe once or twice. Nothing that major. Well, major to her.

"That's like, part of me." she announced, attention on Madame. "If anything, you're a total stuck-up brat!"

Attempting to pull her claw back, Kollmon found herself wrapped in a hug from Bubbles. The mole accepted the gesture. Even if it did feel slightly tight, on top of messing with her hair. They break away, a hug for Madame following. The gesture, while accepted, was not what the thief had in mind at the moment. She had hoped for more of a chat. One where both parties could state their case. Or a shouting match. Either option worked for her in that moment. 'They' could just suck it. At least for the moment. Maybe later their chance would come around and get to shine as bright as her.

"Ready to head in?" she continued, stepping out of the embrace and making a beeline towards the door. Her companions follow right behind, coming upon the door. A large piece of what I can only assume is oak has been carved with the utmost of care. Wrought iron twisted into large decorative flowers hangs in front of it, constricting any who attempt to enter. The more I hear about this place, the less I want to have anything with this place. Yet, Bubbles is unfazed by it all. Envy the little dragon to an extent. Not all of us can be so happy and carefree. Life has a way of just kicking your ass when things start to be going 'well'. Like that potion goop, for example.

Pulling the wrought iron decor away with a push, it's just a matter of Madame inserting the key and twisting the knob. For a place with such high security, having a single doesn't make much sense.

"Welcome to my manor." she explained, stepping on through. The inside is… interesting. Sure, the marble floors are nice and compliment the tan walls. A grand staircase kept clean connected the bottom floor to the top. Doesn't seem to get use, really. Or everyone's a light step.

But I don't think the maids hanging from the ceiling are part of this. Dried puddles litter the area, an odor of death the cherry on top of this strange situation

"Friends?" Bubbles inquired, trying to get off the ground. Try as he might, no flight is achieved. Does get him boosted up by Madame.

"Get down here this instant!" the thief announced, whip pulled back. Swinging it forward, she slammed the weapon against the floor.

"Crap. She figured it out!" one of the maids announced, wiggling about from her rope. Okay. Not expecting that. What the fuck is up with this place? None of this adding up one bit.

One by one, the maids drop down. All are dressed in the typical maid outfit. You know, the black and white minidress, frilly headband and of course those strange-looking leggings. Heels look a bit higher than normal, nor do the proportions quite match properly. A sculptor's work, tarnished by the heat of their kiln. Or perhaps worse, sabotage of a fellow sculptor. Even some other variable I can't think of at the moment.

"Ma- I mean mistress, what are your orders?" one of the maids chimed, watching Madame's whip return to her garment. "Who is that thing by you?"

Bubbles slowly approached the group of strange maids. Nice enough on the surface, the whole 'hanging on the ceiling' greeting was not something people normally did. But they were Madame's 'friends'.

So the little dragon gave them a chance - for now. Even if the looks they were giving him suggested they were in a cautious, yet grabby sort of mood.

"What a cutie!" a maid announced, picking Bubbles up and began spinning him around. Phusitmon fell off, choosing this opportunity to make a break for it. Fair enough, except for the fact that he was leaving his partner behind. "Where did you find him, Madame?"

The thief didn't answer. Instead, they choose to just look more towards the ground. After all that had happened today, maybe it was better to just lie to their servants and leave it all hush-hush. But right now, a little truth couldn't hurt anyone. Right?

"I met him after a job." Madame explained. "Safehouse was compromised, though. So I'll need you gals to grab everything tonight and move it about."

A confused glance, then a nod. Just left one question. Kind of an honest, yet necessary one to be asked.

"Anything that you want to do with this little guy?" a different maid added, Madame taking a second to debate her options. On one hand, Bubbles was a guest. But he possibly knew her secret to an extent that was dangerous to her legacy.

'He's young.' they shout in her head, she not even listening. Why did this have to be such a battle? Neither had wanted this fate, but this choice still remained. "There's no way he'll actually tell

'She' takes a deep breath. Hopefully, this wouldn't bite her in the ass down the road.

"He likes princesses. You can dress him up with one of my dresses." Madame explained, watching her friend perk up. Opening his bag, Hilda and Blance coming out and getting held within another hug.

"Aww…" a maid cooed, giving a nod in return to their mistress's suggestion. "We'll make this quick."

The servants headed off, Bubbles watching as Madame motioning his friends to stay. Trusting as he was of her, why couldn't they go with him for the makeover?

Nonetheless, his focus shifted to the maids. Steps in rhythm, an oppressed air surrounded them. No one really spoke, nor did they look too happy after the initial greeting.

"Madame's friends?" he inquired, snickering serving as the one consistent answer between the maids. At the top, they took a left. The walls continued the color from the lower floor, but the marble had given away to carpet. Sky blue, a fancy border lining the edges. Paintings line the walls. They display a woman dressed in a poofy dress. Some are orcs, a couple humans, a dwarf or two, then a handful of halflings. All of which led to an empty frame.

"Madame?" Bubbles inquired, a maid's gaze fall to the carpet. A slap followed, knocking the dragon off.

"Don't you dare mention that whore's name again!" the maid screeched, Bubbles pulling himself up. Checking his dolls, he stared towards the now irate maid. A light green glow covered his left claw. "You're nothing but trouble, aren't you?"

A kick followed, Hilda and Blance getting lodged into the wall. Bubbles tried to reach out to them. Just out of reach. So he tried once more. Still nothing. His third attempt was a complete failure, no closer to his precious princesses.

"Madame's friend." he whispered, pulling himself back up. "Please?"

Tears began to roll down. Why were they so rude to Madame? Sure, Madame was by no means the nicest friend of his. But 'she' should have the same chance as everyone else. So the dragon made himself as big as can be. He held his hand out, rushing forward towards the irate maid. The sizzle that follows is not what either party expects to happen. Nor is the dropping of an arm.

"Sorry…" Bubbles whispered, pulling his claw back. The sound of three sets of footprints running up the stairs echoed behind him. "Madame!"

The cracking of a whip rang out, slamming the weapon right at the maid's feet. After, the thief approached her teammate.

"Bubbles, are you alright?" Madame shouted, each words filled with frustration and fury. Bubbles nodded, watching his friend's gaze shift to their servants. He wanted to sneak a hug in, but it didn't seem like a good time. Maybe later.

Once more, the whip gets pulled back. "He is our _guest_. You will treat him as such."

They get no answer. Well, if you don't count the middle finger as a proper one. Especially with the even 'Deader' maid lays on the floor. It's as if they mean nothing. Maybe they had a life that didn't involve this place. Can't really tell it now.

"Why should we listen to you?" a different maid remarked, pulling their foot back for a kick.

**Bubble!**

As moves go, this one is pretty hard to take seriously. Does do the job nicely in freaking out what I can only assume are zombie maids. Might want to decide on a different name for it though. Don't want to get your partner mixed up with your attack.

"Get it away from me!" a maid announced, bolting it down the stairs. Phusitmon stared down towards himself, which made this Kollmon's time to shine.

**Claw!**

Not as scary as Phusitmon's attack, the effect was still the same. Or would've, if not for one of the maids kicking the mole back towards Madame.

"Like, not cool." Kollmon muttered, getting a shrug from their companion. "Like Madame, why did you hire these totally uncool maids?"

Madame's gaze now sat comfortably on the carpet. Trying to find the words, none came out to help her. Why couldn't she remember when they were all hired. The portraits hanging on the wall taunt them, mocking her existence with all their might. Why hadn't she gotten rid of these in the first place? Humility? Trust? No. A reminder of what they all supposedly were - the lie they had all kept. Lies can't last forever though. Eventually, the truth will make itself known. One way or another.

Pulling her whip back, she makes a general guess of her targets. Probably off, that didn't matter right now. The weapon springs forward and something falls down.

"Thank you!"

Madame's gaze shifts back up. Hilda and Blance now laid on the floor. Unharmed from their excursion, Bubbles scooping them up and slipping them back into his bag. Then it's back to the maids. Unamused by this act, knives come out. Guessing this is their last day, so why not go out with a bang? Well, I guess there's worse ways to leave a job.

"Bring it." a maid announced, watching a seafoam green outline form around Madame's small body. A single word exiting the thief's mouth. Kind of cheaty, but what would you expect from a thief? Playing fair?

"Gale." they announced, a gust of wind sweeping across their petticoats. Looked kind of refreshing. Up against that nasty smell and the lack of any outside air piercing through the closed windows of the manor. Probably should get that fixed.

"Infuse!" Kollmon added, a gray outline surrounding her body. "Shade!"

Joining the thief is an elongated shadow. I guess it's supposed to hide her? Maybe it would work better on someone who's actually, I don't know, stealthy? Yeah. That. Eh. She fits the role for the moment. Really, that's the only thing that matters. Especially as a second gust wind tore into their opponents.

**Shade Claw!**

Seizing on this opportunity, Kollmon charged forward. Taking swipes at the maids, their attention shifted to the afterimage. Knives thrown into the floor, one or two ending up in the backs of other maids. If their fighting skills are anywhere as bad as their cleaning and pranking skills, I don't have much hope for them to get rehired. Which isn't even counting lodging Bubble's princess dolls into the wall and the awful treatment of the dragon earlier. Which does leave the obvious question - why? Is this some sort of long con that went horribly wrong and this how they've been repenting? Doubt it. What was that saying? Two jumps forward, one gust back? Yeah, that.

"Bubbles?" Phusitmon inquired, watching his partner focus on him for the moment. "Do you think you can help us finish this out?"

Bubbles looked towards the maid, then back to Phusitmon. A nod, with the green outline coming right after.

"Fuse!" the little dragon announced, forgetting what his power did exactly. This is going to go one of two ways. Either he manages to actually hit one of the maids, or he's sent somewhere by accident. "Druplet!"

Thankfully, Bubbles made sure to wait for his partner to power up. Don't even want to think about if he had decided to just charge off.

"Infuse!" Phusitmon announced, feeling the green outline around his plush body. "Mending!"

**Mending Bubble!**

The second round of water spheres was a lot more effective. Mostly by way of the healing factor. Which also means its now Bubbles's turn. A single maid remains. Don't really feel sorry for her. Especially when compared to the one who tried to make a break for it.

"Friends?" the little dragon inquired, getting a screech from his sole opponent. They charged forward, going for a kick. Bubbles past on through. I think you can guess how this bout went. After, his attention turned to Madame. "Princess dress?"

Madame let out a sigh. Carefully picking the dragon up, she led her group into the presumed destination. But not before reaching a junction. The passageways to the left and right have been boarded up. Proof of something messed up? Nevertheless, Madame shot both hallways a glance.

"Like, what was up with those maids?"

The words roll right on out of Kollmon's mouth, her partner looking away. Try as they might, the dots refuse to connect. Had they ever put any thought into why these strange servants lived here? Sure, it's kind of hard to ask the deceased these questions. Were they even maids to begin with? Sure, they looked the part. But what if they… weren't? Add in the paintings, what exactly was her family doing exactly in Aldia? Better yet, could she no, they break free. Okay, maybe the last one was already technically answered. Attention back on the door, she pulled it open. Inside, it looked like a full-on closet lined with little dresses. A rainbow of various shades, there was even little cubbies for flats, heels and the gloves. Can't forget about those parts of a princess's outfit.

"Any color in particular that you would like?" the thief inquired, watching her friend gaze over his options. Eventually, he stopped upon one princess dress in particular. An ice blue one, looking to be around the dragon's size. "Okay. Let me help you into it."

Pulling the dress off of its hangar, Madame helped the little dragon with his new garment. Totally worth it though.

"Thank you!" Bubbles announced, getting a curtsy from his friend. He tried his best to copy her. It took a few attempts, but he got there.

"You'll get it eventually." Madame whispered, shooting the paintings a glance. Some time later down this road of hers, she would destroy them and the rest of this place - start anew. But that's for another day. Right now, they could celebrate this victory.

* * *

Notes:

Sorry about the longer update time. Some stuff happened.

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Next Time: Wrapping up these trips home with some... interesting conversations.


	13. Fire

I don't own digimon.

* * *

On the walk back home, Blaze tried to process all that happened. Especially when compared to the events that had happened the previous night, this was a far harder challenge. Though, it did bring less confusion with it. Not that such a statement was really saying anything. Which made this the perfect opportunity to go over their story. Don't see why exactly. If anything, this isn't something to lie about. If anything, being honest here should be the best policy by default. Dave seems like someone who has a good head on his shoulders. Sure, he hasn't made the best decisions, but that could be said about all people to some extent. If every decision I made turned out 'right', would I even be here? I highly doubt it.

"After meeting up with Yvonne, we met Bubbles, then Ella." he started, getting a nod from Balamon. "We chased down Madame, got two grunts killed and then buried them. Had a late lunch, now we're walking back."

His partner just nodded. Overall, today had been quite good. Sure, there were a couple of hiccups. Could've gone worse. Which doesn't really explain the skipping and twirls that Blaze was doing at the moment. They look quite good, even if a tiny bit sloppy.

"Getting some practice in at the moment?" Balamon inquired, feeling the nod from his partner. "While I understand that this is part of your dream, do you think you could wait till we're back at home?"

Blaze nodded, his steps going from skipping to a more uniform walk. While not as fun when it came to the actual exercise and building up finesse for more advanced dance moves, he was willing to wait. Especially since it meant getting to show his moves to Dave. Not in a show-off sort of way, more of a demonstration for the former grunt. A way to gauge his interests ahead of a date. Kind of like a diviner to an extent. Sure, most would think to get into the business of telling one's fortune and imparting upon them the possibility of dying. But those diviners are thinking small. A couple diviners I graduated joined up with groups of knights, acting as interrogators and front door security. Of course, I'm fairly confident that they were delinquents who turned their lives around. Good on them.

Blaze's home came into view. Which meant the winding down of the day. The sky is that beautiful shade of orange, all the more ready to fade into a dark purple and bring night upon Aldia once more. Still, the pair cautiously approached the abode. Just in case, even though it's probably not necessary at this point.

"I'm home!" Blaze announced, opening the door. Overall, everything looked the same. I would be more concerned if something was somehow had been messed with. Dave sat off to the side, looking a bit better now. "Sorry about the lack of food. Usually, it's just me here."

Dave just chuckled, his gaze focusing on the leotard hanging up at the moment. While uninterested in really trying it on (thankfully), a question came to Blaze. One big enough to make him put the summary of today's events on the backburner. Maybe. Though, it would probably help if he at least went in order.

"How did your day go?" Dave inquired, the decision being made for the fighter in that moment. I think I'm starting to like him. Though, it might be a bit too early to decide on that. So Blaze cleared his throat and gave his partner a quick glance. A nod followed.

"After Yvonne and I left, we met a little dragon by the name of Bubbles." Blaze started, giving his partner a slight pet. "He's also has one of these."

Holding up his D-Venture, Dave looked it over. Kind of under-designed for what's supposed to be a powerful device. Even the name sounds like a placeholder for something cool. D-Burst? D-Element? No, those sound silly. D-Tector? Nah. That's even worse. Let me stop while I'm still ahead.

"After, we got to see a show of some kind, which was crashed by one Madame Von Strauss."

Dave tapped his leg. Not in a hurtful way, but to get his attention.

"Yes?" the fighter inquired and set his arm down, realizing where the former grunt had gotten confused in his explanation. "She's a legendary thief… I think. Killed one of your teammates, then got a second killed by accident."

The words roll on out, a sigh being his answer. I guess there's worse things you could do in this situation. Not that their guest really seemed bothered.

"If I'm being honest with you, you're really the only person I've actually gotten to know so far." Dave whispered, getting a double take by way of Blaze in return. A chuckle followed. "What? In between the general animosity everyone had to each other and their higher-ups and the general distaste for those who somehow didn't fit. At least they aren't completely awful to the LGBTQ crowd."

Now, it was Blaze's turn to look at his friend. The former had said it without a second thought, but the letters seemed strange together. I'm in the same boat. Something to do with relationships to an extent?

"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer." Dave explained, taking a deep breath. Oh boy, why does something tell me this was a whole cup of worms brought forth? "Lesbians - women who are only interested in other women; Gays - men who are only interested in other men; Bisexual - people who's preferences align with both males and females to varying degrees; Trans - people who find that their identity doesn't align with the sex they were assigned at birth; Queer - The catchfall for anything this isn't quite seen as 'Straight' by some societies. There's also Cisgender; while not part of the acronym, means your identity matches up both ways (gender and sex)."

A gulp for air followed. A well-deserved one in my book. Which brings us right back to our fighter - deep in thought. Sure, he and I now have a general idea of what the heck this strange string of letters meant. Though, why does something tell that there's a whole lot more to this than just that?

Of course, a new question had come to Blaze in that moment. While it was probably best to continue with his story, this worked just as well. Especially if it results in new information unearthed.

"So uh... where exactly did you come from, Dave?" he asked, finally taking a seat across from Dave. Balamon slithered off, taking a position beside his partner. Took them long enough.

"That's kind of complicated." Dave remarked and took a deep breath. "I guess I can try and explain it to you."

Blaze and Balamon nodded. At this point, they were both ready. Well, they saw themselves as ready. How about that.

"I'm not entirely sure where exactly Aldia itself sits in the multiverse or really the name of the continent as a whole, so I'll just call it 'Planet'. Does that work for you two?"

Two nods. Though, I get the feeling that neither of them actually have an idea what they're getting into.

"A long time ago, some guy had a realization - we are alone in this world. So he began pooling money in order to do the impossible - create a new world."

Judging by the way that his audience was looking right now, it would seem that they had taken a left instead of a right in this description and were now somewhere that wasn't quite on the map. Heck, I don't think I understand it much myself. Sure, spells existed to create places in ancient times, but those were all lost. What is Distant Harmony's secret? Lots of 'technology' in place of magic? No. There's some things that I doubt they would not have access to otherwise. Perhaps a mix of both?

"One world came two, two became four, four became eight, etc. But then things took a turn for the worse."

Blaze tapped the former grunt. I think you should probably use your worlds at this point. Unless you're just confused and trying to process this. Then it's understandable. Not sure if this is the case here.

"Just how badly are we talking?" Blaze inquired, getting a deep breath. That doesn't sound too good. Sure, at any moment things could go to shit on my end. So this can't be that bad. Right?

"First, the founder died Supposedly, too many worlds exist or something along those lines." Dave continued, gaze back on the pair. "Of which, 'Planet' is one of the first on the chopping block."

Blaze gulped, gaze now on the ground. Dave noticed and put a hand on the fighter's shoulder. It felt quite good.

"This was all part of the employee orientation." Dave continued, focus shifting slightly to be back on both audience members. Confused, but still managing to follow what "So take it with a grain of salt. I'm not really certain how much of it is completely the truth."

Blaze nodded. After, he cleared his throat. Sure, the actual explanation was most definitely a lot more complicated than the one on offer by Dave. Just having an idea of what Distant Harmony's deal was better than nothing. Even if it was pretty obvious that his friend had just dodged the actual question in the process. Something for another day. After all, Dave didn't seem to really care about his past. In turn, maybe it's best to

So the fighter focused on Dave. Questions could be held after his explanation. Or small talk. Possibly both. Depends on the words and reactions that followed.

"After the second grunt died, someone calling himself 'the artisan' showed up and told us that he'll show up for real tomorrow." Blaze explained, shifting his scimitar's position to his lap. Please be careful with that. Don't want you to injure yourself while having a conversation. Better yet, put it off to your side. "So we went to the cemetery and buried both of them. After we had a very late lunch and then Balamon and I headed back."

"Sounds like you two had quite a busy day." Dave remarked. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

The words roll right on out, their meaning not at all lost to the fighter's ears. He just wasn't expecting it to come so fast. Not that the idea is really minded.

What exactly could Dave do in this tiny shack to help? Make him a meal? Provide entertainment of some variety that wasn't dancing? Try as he might, the fighter couldn't seem to quite grasp it. Nor was it helped by the conversation that preceded it. By the definitions provided by Dave, did that mean he was gay as well? Sure, the fighter was certain that dance was not something boys his age dreamed about. Nor did they take up the offer of a date with another guy. Unless it was a double date. Even then, could he really be up to Dave's standards.

So he got up and made his way over to his leotard.

"Uh… let me get changed first." he remarked, cheeks as pink as they could possibly get in that moment.t moment. Dave nodded, turning around in an attempt at giving some level of privacy. Though, I don't see Balamon really doing any of that. Kind of rude on his part.

"You going to be alright?" the snake digimon whispered, Blaze's gaze falling to the floor. What looks like a nod followed. Or perhaps it was just a normal head movement. Hard to tell from here. Even I could, neither of them are really subtle about it. Especially with Dave around.

"I guess." Blaze remarked, his thoughts winding right on through. The more he thought about it, the more confused he seemed to get. That was without the whole 'do I like guys'. Try as he might, it wouldn't let go till he had a proper answer. But none came. It was as if

Eventually, the leotard got on. By that point, the fighter was so lost that he needed something to get his mind of this mess.

"Could I give you a massage?" Dave inquired, getting one more confused look. Don't blame him. This whole last couple minutes has been a complete rollercoaster of emotions. Even more so than earlier.

"Uh… sure." Blaze answered, kneeling down. Dave then got to work. Making an effort to not ruin the makeshift leotard, he kneaded his knuckles across the fighter's back.

"Is this too rough?" the former grunt inquired, getting a head shake. "Sorry. It's been a while since I've done this to someone. Especially someone as cute as you."

Blaze's head went as red as his nice. Just hearing it from Dave though did a bit to soothe his worries for the moment. Not that changed the question swirling about within.

"Not at all." the fighter answered, taking a deep breath. "Thanks for doing this. I'll try to get some food so we can have a proper dinner."

Dave looked down. If his ears were to be believed, this sounded like a start of a potential date. Shame he didn't have anything to write this down. Especially after he had worked up the courage.

"Really?"

Blaze nodded, feeling the work of Dave's hands across his body. Sure, he didn't really have an answer to what he was to an extent. But in this moment, he could see a new possibility in glimpses. Maybe in time, he could see the whole picture.

"Anything in particular that you want me to make?" the former grunt remarked, watching Blaze's gaze shift about. Especially as the realization of the lack of kitchen in his own home. Better yet, what the fuck has he been eating to keep in shape?

"Well, we have a lot of beef thanks to all the orc's here in Aldia. As for things to go with it, potatoes are always good." Blaze explained, making a mental note to search for counters and maybe a proper stove. But that's for tomorrow. Right now, he could just bask in the comfort of Dave's hands.

"Better?"

The fighter nodded, getting back up to his feet. What followed, was the start of a routine. But not before paying the masseuse. Be quite rude otherwise. Even if it's a free massage. Judging by the smile, his bribe was accepted. As for the show, I can't help but be surprised. I guess the difference is night and day. Crap. I'll let this one slide. But not again. If I didn't know any better, you're just trying to bait this out. That, or I'm just that predictable. This might be one of those 'both' situations. Fine by me. Though, I think I'll let these two have their fun.

* * *

Notes:

Quite a challenging chapter to write. Mostly by way of having a couple of days where I was unable to really work as much as I usually do. A big thanks to the Challenge Zone discord for helping with the editing process.

Outside of that, I'm heading back to college. Which means that progress on chapters is going to slow down for a bit.

.

Next Time: Dawn of a New Day.


	14. Gathering for a storm

I don't own digimon.

* * *

After a good night's sleep for me and our heroes, we come upon a new day in Aldia. It's also a new day on my end as well. A good night's sleep does all some bit of good. Well, I hope it does. Would suck if that wasn't the case in a place such if this. Make all the sunsets I had to experience worthless.

"I guess we're early this time around."

Of course, Ella and Cinemon were the first ones to arrive. Almost isn't fair to an extent. Everyone else lives at least a couple buildings length away. But considering they also had one or two people check out from the inn, the timing evened out.

"I guess." Ella remarked, scanning the nearby area for anyone. When she didn't find anyone, the turret came out and the artificer took a seat. Not sure that's a good idea. But what do I know? "Though, I did hear the sounds of someone slinking about."

Her partner's gaze swiveled over. I guess the digimon with what I can only assume with enhanced hearing not being able to hear the sound of someone walking past. Unlikely, but might be possible. Depends on a variety of factors. We (I and you, the reader) would need to know to where both of them were sleeping. In this case, Ella was in her bedroom and Cinemon was in say, the lobby of the Inn. While I'm not an expert when it comes to stuff like sound, it's possible that the mysterious 'intruder' was just loud enough to be heard at the window but not the lobby. I'm no tracker though. That would be a job for an enchanter. Yes, that strange class whose sole function is to create magical items. Gone are the days of quests via strange whispers and trying to reach 'zero' for some reason. Nor is any skill truly infused into the item itself.

Nowadays, most enchanters I know are brought in for stand-offs between two opposing parties. Usually with a diviner or perhaps even a conjurer. A couple still engage in actual enchanting, but you know. Things aren't quite what they used to be.

Thankfully, this train of thought was thrown off by the arrival of Yvonne and Munbimon. Was wondering if they ever made their way back post their graveyard date. I guess this works as answer. Clad in her armor, the barbarian had forgone her helmet. Or, it's being stored somewhere. Heck, maybe Marulyn might have it. Any of those options could be the case currently. Not that we'll know unless someone asks about it.

"Hello." Yvonne greeted, letting her warhammer sit at her side for the moment. A gaze around the surrounding area followed. "Phew."

Ella's gaze shot on over.

"Something wrong?" the artificer remarked, getting off her turret. From the look of things, the weapon had somehow held her weight. I would say I'm impressed, but not really. Especially since Yvonne shook her head.

"No." the barbarian answered, focus now on Ella. "I just asked my 'girlfriend' to keep watch. She kept her word."

Ella did a double take. Sure, Marigold had kind of led Yvonne into such a statement. But to hear it straight from the horse's mouth, felt a bit odd. Not that Ella was jealous. Far from it. Personally, I suspect she has no interest in this whole romance thing. Probably a word for that.

"We had one date. It's not really official." Yvonne continued, getting a chuckle from her partner. A swipe at her back followed. Not that it really helped her case. Pretty clear to me how you felt in those moments. "Though, I do now have my warhammer back. Which I forgot in the graveyard."

Ella gaze towards the weapon. While most of the dirt had been knocked off, traces of the deed done yesterday still remained. A confirmation that the whirlwind of a day yesterday had in fact happened. Okay, maybe not that far. You get the point.

Shifting her gaze back to Yvonne, the artificer took a deep breath. While a long suit, maybe something had caught her friend's eye that her's hadn't. Not that this was saying much, since we can only assume Ella was asleep when this went down.

"Can I ask you something?" Ella inquired, the barbarian kneeling down to maintain some eye contact with her.

"Sure." Yvonne answered. "Something come up?"

A head shake.

"By any chance, did you see a figure making the rounds near my inn?" the artificer explained, a head shake serving as her answer for the moment. Well, the shot was taken. "It's alright."

Yvonne nodded, shifting her grip up the weapon. Just in case. Unnecessary, since it was now Blaze and Balamon's chance to show up. Same outfit as yesterday, just now with his leotard underneath. Maybe he suspected there would be some downtime. Though, Balamon had gone

"Hi." the fighter greeted, his partner slithering down to the street. "Yvonne, Ella, how are you?"

Yvonne cracked a smile. Ella on the other hand, just shrugged.

"I'm good." Yvonne remarked, standing back up. Though, it looks like someone wrapped a piece of paper around the hilt of the scimitar. "What's that?"

Blaze's gaze shifted to his weapon, getting at the paper. Pulling it away, he held the slip up to see it.

_Blaze,_

_Wasn't quite sure how to get this note to you. So I wrapped it around your sword. Well, I think this is a sword (my knowledge of weapons isn't that great). After giving it some thought, I'll think I'll make you a steak. So could you kindly get me some beef?_

_While you're out, I'll think of ways that I can help out around the house. Or at least until we can find something for me to do._

_-Dave_

The fighter's cheeks turned red, gaze shifting away from his teammates. Sure, the pair had discussed the topic of dinner. To have an idea of what to make was an entirely different beast. Add in the possibility of somehow finding a job in Aldia for his boyfriend, he was going to need to think this through. Though, I believe in you. Sure, he can't hear these words I'm writing (be strange if he could), but I like to believe he can feel it. Maybe.

"You too?" Yvonne inquired, watching Blaze's gaze swivel back on over. A nod, then a mumbled 'yes'. "I guess we can share our pain."

Blaze nodded, only to realize what the barbarian had meant mere moments later. A win for sleepiness on this occasion? Something like that. So his focus shifted to her warhammer.

"So I'm guessing you went to grab it with that Marulyn lady?" he remarked, getting a nod in return.

"She's an alright girl." Yvonne remarked, taking a deep breath. "Bit eccentric. But her heart is in the right place."

Now of all times was when Madame showed up. Dressed in her jumpsuit, she doesn't look too happy. If anything, the thief looked tired and ready to collapse. So much for sleep.

"Oh. It's you." Ella remarked, getting an eye roll in return. "I'm guessing you were the one sneaking about in the n-"

The crack of a whip ended that sentence. Kind of rude way to answer that.

"My manor is nowhere near your stupid Inn." Madame countered, letting her whip return to her side. "Even if it was, I wouldn't ev-"

A hug cuts her off. So she did sneak out in the middle of the night. How rude. I guess this makes this our last arrival.

"Princess!" Bubbles announced, getting a sigh from Madame in return. Still wearing the princess dress and bag, he looked more ready for a ball than a breakfast outing. Unless it was a fancy ball setting and everyone was dressed like that. Guess those sort of events happened. No one ever invites me. Or any event for that matter. "Back?"

The thief looked away, catching a look from their partner. Kollmon definitely doesn't look too amused. You wouldn't be too if your companion snuck off in the middle of the night for some unknown reason and didn't show up till now.

"Like, rude for you to just leave me behind in the middle of the night." the mole digimon muttered, shaking a claw in Madame's direction. While the thief did try to shift her gaze away, there wasn't much use. Bubbles was waiting for her on this end. So taking a deep breath, her focus shifted to that of her teammates.

"You could at least tell us why you were running about in the night." Yvonne remarked, a sigh being the thief's initial answer. After, she slowly approached Yvonne.

"Since my safehouse got compromised, I needed to move the belongings back." Madame remarked, rubbing her eyes. A yawn followed. "I would've gotten my maids to do it, but they weren't so friendly to guests."

Bubbles gave a wave. Points for realizing that Madame was talking about him? Maybe. Yvonne noticed it, warhammer getting lifted off the ground.

"Yvie?" Bubbles remarked, catching the barbarian by surprise. "My fault."

The warhammer returns to its spot, not without a look to Madame in the process.

"If it helps, I don't think he meant to cause that." Madame remarked, giving Bubbles a head pat. While tempted, the dragon resisted the urge to give Madame a second hug. Could be saving it for a moment later today.

"Do I at least get the rock you stole back?" Ella remarked, Madame rolling her eyes. Answer seems obvious here.

"It was a fake." the thief answered, finding Ella's turret pointed right at her. Threatening, to the extent that an inactive weapon would be in most situations - not very. "What use could you have for it now?"

Ella took a deep breath. She really wanted to lay waste to Madame, full-auto and not looking back. That option was a last resort, definitely not for a situation like this.

"It's a good prop for my shows." the artificer countered, pushing her turret slightly closer. She does realize that is only going to make her companion even more willing to retaliate? Not good negotiating tactics. "That, and people were talking about it."

Another eyeroll. This time, a chuckle followed. Almost a yawn.

"What even makes you think that people care about such a rock?" Madame announced, switching over to her dress at the moment. "If I wanted too, I could just take that deed away."

Turret revving up, Madame began whistling a tune. Mocking, intentions crystal clear. Eventually, the turret dies down and Ella's gaze fell to the ground. Sure, the woman in front was by no means a 'friend' or even an 'acquaintance, but she was her teammate. Not that this meant much, outside of making this behavior even more childish.

"I'm sorry." Ella whispered, Madame just looking away. She muttered something, but it got lost in the wind. Wait, wind? I think this is the first time we have seen such a phenomenon without it being created by a whip. Which means this must be coming from some other source at this very moment. But where exactly?

"Up here!"

Shifting our perspective upwards, we come upon that strange man from yesterday. He's forgone the expected garments, instead going for strange blue pants and a just as bizarre brown jacket. I guess this is what people wear from wherever he's from? Of course, the mask of the strange bronze man sits comfortably on his face. How the heck does he even eat with that thing on?

"You seemed to have all gathered." the Artisan announced, a strange scorpion creature jumping off his back and taking center stage in front of our heroes's partners. Feathers covering it's skin, this creature doesn't look too bright. Maybe he or she is and doesn't show through that well.

"Pathetic." the scorpion announced, flashing a claw their way. It's not so threatening. Kind of cute. Wouldn't mind a stuffed animal of it. At least, not one with such poisonous tendencies. "Also, shut up."

Their audience shifted their focus to them. A head shake, followed by this strange creature jumping up onto what I can only assume is his master.

"Not you guys." the Artisan announced, letting his attention shift to Yvonne and company. "While I could explain it to you people, that would take too long. So let's have breakfast."

The moment that sentence exited his mouth, he got five pairs of double takes. Not because of the long story comment, but more his want for some breakfast. Do they not serve anything up on that strange base of yours? Would be kind of an odd for your employer to do. Especially if they want to retain you for a future mission.

"Does it really matter?" the Artisan muttered, approaching the door to the cafe. He motioned for them to follow. "Maybe I chose to skip a meal to get to know my opponents…"

Yvonne cleared her throat. On one hand, this guy seemed like a loose fireball waiting to explode. But at least this was an attempt at patching up re-

"Oh. This place has those demonic whores too."

It took everything in the barbarian's power to not cause an incident. Even then, steam looked to be coming right out of her ears. Thankfully, a slight tap from Munbimon was enough to calm her down.

"He's probably the one that was sneaking about last night." Ella added, dispelling her turret. A chuckle from Madame followed, not that the artificer answered it back. They followed their possible opponent.

Inside, things looked the same as yesterday. Expecting it too change in such a short was quite absurd.

"Welcome back." Marigold greeted, gaze split between the Artisan and her actual customers. "I'm going to assume this idiot and his scorpion are with you guys?"

Madame took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"I guess." the thief muttered. After, she pulled out a couple gold coins from somewhere and tossed them over. The waitress accepted the bribe, leading them over to a table. Little chairs had been provided for the digimon to sit in. Which is always a plus. "So, who is that weird creature?"

The Artisan's gaze shifted over to Madame. Mumbling something under his breath, a smile formed on his face. Even threw in a bit of cackling to boot.

"A wlitte scorpion with more than enough punch to take you out." he announced, quite proud of what I can only assume is an insult. "Heck. Your little lizard would just need one touch of my special stash."

Bubbles stared toward this strange. While none of what he said sounded nice one bit, he had to have some reason to not like him. Right?

"Scorpie?" he inquired, a hiss being the response from the scorpion. Bubbles scooted back. Which, didn't really do much.

"It's Carinamon." the scorpion muttered, flashing a claw at the little dragon. "What a pitiful thing. You know what? Let's settle this."

A purple, gooey outline appeared around the Artisan. Uh… I don't think that's infusion. Something far worse, perhaps? Has to be.

"Corruption!" he announced, a twisted smile forming on his stupid face. "Toxin!"

I have no clue what that does, but I don't like the thought of that. Not one bit.

"My boss and I challenge you (stupid dragon) and your plush to an eating battle for this shitty cafe." Carinamon announced, everyone's gaze turning to Bubbles. Which all it did was make him even more confused. Especially when Madame reached out to try and get him out of the princess dress. Yet, the little dragon shook his head.

"Just don't wreck it." Madame ordered, watching her child. Yeah. child. Judging by the plates of food brought out, this is going to be quite a challenge. No, those aren't for our competitors. Sadly. Guess that's something for Bubbles and the Artisan to figure out.

* * *

Notes:

So yeah. Start of a new arc of sorts. Starting out with Bubbles of all characters, because it seemed like the perfect place to start power-wise. Though, the order will shift about with each order head so that everyone has a chance at all positions. Just with the first, it's a bit more obvious.

.

Next Time: Let's chow on down.


	15. Eat it!

I don't own digimon.

* * *

In this moment. the Artisan considered himself a 'big eater' (whatever that means). All his life, he practiced his craft of consumption. Whether that be the toxins of his own creation, or the cheeses he would serve in his shop to hungry adventurers. None of that was ever good enough in the eyes of his superiors and his customers.

So here he was, taking stock in an eating competition of all things against the one thing he hated most - a dragon. Sure, this one couldn't be any more than a child at best. Which meant they could be put out of their misery long before becoming the winged harbinger of death and destruction. Add in the princess dress, this was a sure sign of betrayal of all humans. After all, why else would such a winged beast adorn themselves in such an outfit? Probably the work of the strange midget also wearing a dress. Probably the one who conquered said dragon in combat of some kind.

Okay… I'm not entirely sure what exactly your issue is, but you do realize that's quite a bold assumption to make right now? What's ahead isn't some fate already chosen for you. It's more something to be shaped. To be grabbed hold of and taken to parts unknown. Like an ad-

"Shut it." the Artisan muttered, gaze back on his opponents. While Bubbles had chosen to stay in his princess dress for the moment, precautions were being made to keep it clean. This took the form of putting a protective layer of paper over all of it. Not entirely sure if that will help or not.

"What exactly are we going to eat?" Phusitmon remarked, turning his attention to Marigold at the moment. Ignoring the sheer absurdity of having a plush of all things participate in an eating contest, they hadn't exactly chosen what they would be eating in the first place. Which is probably the first thing you should decide upon before holding a contest in the first place. You would think these people would understand that basic principle at least. But you would be surprised. The other day, some jokester managed to buy a barrel of booze off a nonexistent seller. Your guess is as good as mine on how they managed to do that. The drinking contest that followed fell to me to clean up. Something about the janitor being out for the day or something dumb. Hopefully, that idiot learned his lesson. As for the mystery booze seller, never heard from again. That's what I know at least. Maybe he travels around, selling his mysterious concoctions to unknowing adventurers and/or students.

Back with our heroes, they were in the middle of moving some of the tables off to the side of the cafe. Mostly so they could give both 'fighters' some space to work with on top of keeping things even. Somehow. Still haven't decided on what they're going to be served. As for the plates of food already being served, those waited patiently to be consumed. How nice of these inanimate objects to do that for you. Sorry, this guy just rubs me the wrong way.

"Why thank you." the artisan announced, quite proud of himself. Especially as he and his partner sat themselves down at one of the tables.

"Do you think you could help us with this?" Blaze inquired, the order head flinging a vial of something his way. While the fighter ducked, the hole now in the floor was less than welcomed.

"You're the one with that boytoy, aren't you?" Carinamon remarked, his opponent pointing his scimitar his way. While I appreciate Blaze's restraint at the moment, I don't think that's really going to help at the moment. Especially against a pair insistent on getting everyone's bad side with little regret or worry. Worrying, since we haven't even gotten to the first battle yet.

Thankfully, the Artisan and Carinamon's attention turned to that of Bubbles and Phusitmon respectively. Who were currently sitting across from them at another table.

"Hi!" Bubbles greeted, waving a claw towards the crazed poisoner and his scorpion. A strange, one finger gesture was all he got in return. Doesn't look too appropriate, so Bubbles pulled his dolls out and set them on the table.

"Yuck."

Sadly viewer, I don't really have the ability to shut him up. If I did, it's highly unlikely I would be the one narrating.

"Oh. do you like princesses then?" Carinamon muttered, Phusitmon already preparing a bubble attack. Just in case this question went south.

"Yep!" Bubbles answered, laughter already piercing through the relative silence of the cafe. Guess we can't have nice things in place like this. Though, expecting that was probably pretty lofty. "Do you?"

The Artisan laughed. Focusing in on the dolls, he couldn't help but notice their craftsmanship. Someone no doubt put a lot of work into these princesses, all for said work to end up in a sewer of all places.

"Not really." he muttered, shifting his mask slightly. I realize that we're not quite friends, but does that mask hurt to wear? Can't imagine that you have the best vision with that thing on.

"Wouldn't you like to know." the Artisan whispered, the last of the tables now in position. Bit unnecessary, especially when you consider that this is a two-on-two eating contest. Turning to Carinamon, he took a deep breath. "How are you up for eggs?"

Carinamon rolled his eyes. Gazing towards his partner, a deep breath followed. How long had it been since they've eaten out? It had to be some time before getting picked up by Distant Harmony. Possibly even before all the misfortune and self-destruction that followed the pair like a plague.

"If that's what you want." the scorpion digimon remarked. In retrospect, maybe bad mouthing the waitress wasn't such a good idea. Nonetheless, Marigold walked over to our two parties. As for Yvonne and co, they were sitting at a nearby table.

"What can I get both of you?" the waitress greeted, smile on her face. Even in the face of someone who's been less than nice to her.

"Eggs." the Artisan announced, Bubbles not even getting the chance to open his mouth. At least consult with your opponent beforehand. "Unless you don't have that."

Marigold looked towards the kitchen, mouthing the request. Judging by the way their spouse was 'possibly' looking their way, I guess they had more than enough on hand for this contest. For better or worse, the sound of sizzling echoing out from the kitchen. Then it's back to over to Bubbles and his opponent.

"Husband or wife?" the Artisan remarked, Marigold looking away. Taking a deep breath, she lets her gaze return to this wannabe asshole.

"Wife."

She got a nod. Was kind of expecting him to go off on some rant about lesbians being awful. Or just going on about the nature of a succubus loving a woman.

"I may be rude, but I respect people's choices." the Artisan muttered, turning to . "To an extent. "

I'll remember to keep that in mind, especially as a knife of some kind finds it way to Marigold's side. Unused, but necessary in this case.

"That's good to hear." she added and headed for the kitchen. A minute or two later, she returned with the first plates of eggs. Though, it would appear that most of our heroes have already finished their meals. Except Madame. Blessed with what can only be described as a pile of goop in a sleepy state, they did not look too happy.

"Yuck." they muttered, the other voice echoing a similar response from within. What was really gained in feeding this slime to them? Heck, they were fairly certain that it would just get up and walk away from the table. Sadly, this was not the case. So she let her focus join that of their teammates, which was squarely on Bubbles and his opponent.

"Are both parties ready?" Marigold announced, setting both plates down and backing away. Just in case. "I'm going to assume this contest is based on the number of plates cleaned, correct?"

The Artisan nodded. Bubbles did the same, even if he didn't really know the reason why he was nodding in the first place. Then it was time to eat. By eating, I mean grabbing the egg and dropping it into their mouths.

"At least use your manners." Madame announced, whip already out. She wasn't using it, but the urge to do so was quite obvious to her teammates.

"I'll be taking that." Ella explained, grabbing the whip away for the moment. Madame shook her fist at the artificer, but held off on a punch. Instead, she switched to her

"Give it back!" Madame announced, watching the barbarian stuff it into her armor. Once the contest is done at least, she'll give it back and everything is good. So for the moment, the thief let her attention turn back to Bubbles. "Let me get you a bib at least."

Aww. Though, I don't think grabbing a rag off of a nearby table.

"Hold still."

Bubbles complied with the order, watching Madame carefully tie the cloth around his neck. Care was taken to not knock off the D-Venture holy symbol thing. Even if an actual bib right now would do a heck of a lot more good here.

Then there was the problem of the food. Not the quality (I'm unable to judge it, sadly), but the amount. Quite challenging to gauge who's actually in the lead when you're only getting plates of eggs wh-

*Chomp*

Oh. He (the Artisan) is now eating the plates. While those were probably not the 'nice' plates that the cafe used for valued guests, I can only assume the loss of such utensils is absolutely not welcomed at the moment.

"Yum." the Artisan announced, passing part of the plate over to Carinamon. They chose to ignore the looks they were getting from Yvonne and company. Even if they were very justified in their confusion at the moment. "You should give it a shot. Might like it."

What the artisan failed to realize is that most people don't eat plates for a good reason. Even if you're able to swallow the plate, you're probably do major damage to your insides. Which is on top of plates not being edible in the first place. Let your common sense win today, people.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Blaze remarked, the next plate of eggs arriving. Look the same as the last plate. Though, it would be kind of odd if there wasn't that particular protein on the we did have a plate just get eaten. What I do know?

The Artisan's gaze shot over. Oh my. This could get ugly, fast. Not that it already hasn't to an extent.

"I am, thank you very much... ballet boy," he announced, possibly quite proud of that little insult. Not really that impressive of one though. Sort of like deciding on eggs as your meal of choice. Wouldn't a full breakfast work just as well. Then there's far more obstacles to beat. On top of giving something for Phusitmon to do in the meantime.

Speaking of which, the plush rabbit digimon was currently trying his best to look after Bubble's princess dolls at the moment. Perhaps he wanted a princess dress of his own to match that of his partner's. Not entirely sure it would work though. Maybe the garb of a servant here would do just as well. Yeah, I can see that to an extent.

"Oh, does the little rabbit see themselves as a little princess's woobie?" Carinamon joked, Phusitmon ignoring them. Rather, the plush rabbit was doing his best to just smooth out the doll's princess dresses.

"How's this?" he remarked, watching Madame approach. She gave the dolls a once over, turning back to Phusitmon right after. A sigh followed.

"If anything, they would look better if they were holding hands." Madame suggested. Phusitmon nodded, doing his best to follow the thief's instructions. Though, lack of pose-able limbs made this taskask a hell of a lot more difficult. Phusitmon managed. Somehow. "Much better."

In retaliation for such a strange and meaningless act (well, to anyone other than Bubbles), Carinamon began to whip his claws about.

**Carina Gale!**

That's… one way to go about that, especially since you caught Marigold right in the middle of this. Though I'm starting to wonder what your endgame is even at this point. So you beat Bubbles at an eating contest. Then what? The cafe would still belong to Marigold and her wife.

The artisan remained silent, gobbling down an egg as Kollmon scooped the dolls up and carefully flung them back onto the table. There, Phusitmon arranged them like so. All for Carinamon to ignore it. At least now, he was eating an egg of his own. Let's see… That makes one plate for Bubbles, two plates for Artisan over here and I guess one for Carinamon (judging by the shrapnel he deposited here). Which puts our plush rabbit right in dead last. But I don't think he's hungry at the moment. So it's understandable for him to not take part in this event.

Gingerly, Bubbles grabbed his third egg and gobbled it down. After, he let his attention come upon the other egg. While probably pretty tasty and healthy (to an extent), the dragon was getting sick of them. So he focused away from the plate and over to Madame. While the thief hadn't cleaned her plate of the meal provided, it looked to have been similar to the mush from yesterday. They had traded then, maybe they could do the same here.

"Princess?" he inquired, watching his friend look over to him. Then it's over to the plate of eggs. While no real rules had been made in regards to just trading out plates, that would be cheating? No rules were really said at the start. "Trade?"

Looking over to her plate of goop, Madame took a deep breath. She walked over, scooped the plate up and made her way back over to Bubbles. Putting the plate down, she scooped up the egg plate and headed back for her table. Which left our little dragon here to stomach through the goop once more. I definitely don't want to know what the heck is in that stuff. Nothing good, if a guess needs to be made.

"Cheater!" the Artisan announced, shaking his fist towards Bubbles. Mumbling of what I can only assume are full-on threats to his opponent. If not, some kind of insult. Possibly, dragon-related knowing him. "He has to be the one who eats the eggs!"

Marigold rolled her eyes, slowly approaching this massive idiot. While she had no weapon, I get the feeling she's had enough of this.

"If you're not going to be nice, I will throw you out." the waitress announced and cracked her knuckles. Which in turn, got laughter from both the Artisan and his partner.

"Personally, I would love to see a whore like you somehow man-"

Grabbing hold of the order 'head' (or whatever I'm supposed to call him), Marigold lifted him over her shoulders. Flinging him forward, it's a clean sweep through the still open door. Would've sucked (maybe) if he had crashed through a wall. Carinamon was right behind. No throw, sadly. More of a very slow walk over to the door and up onto the Artisan's back. Anticlimactic. Probably make someone want a refund if this were a show or something. But I guess you could ask me for something if you want? I'm not picky.

"See you tomorrow, suckers!" the Artisan announced, giving a wave as he and his partner were teleported back. Makes it even worse if you ask me. Doesn't even have the guts to stay down here and face his challenger.

After, Marigold returned her attention to Bubbles.

"I guess that makes you the winner." the waitress explained, a deep breath following that statement. The cafe's current state was less than ideal. Tables especially, being moved out of the way only for such a short eating contest. Add in the lost revenue, the broken plates and having to serve only eggs for the morning, some debts are owed. Bribes or not.

* * *

Notes:

Sorry about taking longer than normal. Came down with a cold partway through writing the chapter after this one. If it helps, said chapter is quite a bit longer than this one to make up for it.

Even then, this chapter was a pain in the butt to write. Mostly because I've never written an eating contest before. There was even a planned scene of the Artisan getting hit with a frying pan. But that got scrapped in place of him getting thrown out. Literally.

.

Next time: Tryng to make up for the mess we made.


	16. Paying our Debt

I don't own digimon.

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As it would turn out, our heroes would be paying off their debts right now. Considering what the Artisan said, they had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted too. Talk about a win if I've ever seen one. If not, to hell with him for the moment.

"We're willing to help you right now." Yvonne explained, getting a look from Madame at the moment. "If that's alright with you, Marigold."

Marigold scanned the area one more time. While the actual cleanup time was minimal at best, getting some help for the busy lunch hours would be nice. Then they would be even. Hopefully.

"That works for me." Marigold explained, turning her attention to our heroes. "Blaze, Yvonne you'll be helping me take orders. Bubbles, Ella and Madame, you'll be helping my wife in the kitchen."

Madame let out a groan. Of course, she managed to be dragged into this. The fact that Yvonne had her whip made it all the more worse in that moment. But they bite their tongue and what sounds like pride is swallowed.

"Is there any outfits that you would like us to wear?" Ella inquired and caught what looked to be a smile on Marigold's face. Yvonne took a step back, watching the waitress effortlessly make up the difference.

"Oh. I won't tell Marulyn." she cooed, getting a sigh from the barbarian in return. After the events that had transpired yesterday, Yvonne's feelings were quite understandable. Even if she had taken the time to make sure that a certain someone would be kept busy. Hopefully.

"Fine." Yvonne remarked, making her way over towards the kitchen. She gave the elf cleaning the stove a wave. Passing on through, she found herself facing down a closet. Quite plain, with little in the way of something to actually make it stand out. Doesn't stop her from pulling it open, revealing a bunch of pinafores. Spans the rainbow. Almost. I don't think grey and black are part of the colors. Not that this stops the barbarian from grabbing this one in particular and ducking into the closet itself. A few minutes of grunts and groans followed. Eventually, Yvonne exited the closet and past on through the kitchen. She felt naked to an extent. The armor provided protection, on top of weighing down on her body. Here, the pinafore and apron combo felt too… light. At any moment, she would just float away without any method to get back down. Probably not something extreme like that. Even the flats that somehow held her feet in felt far too dainty. She wouldn't have chosen this pair, but these were the only ones on offer. Given the choice, Yvonne would've gone for a pair of boots. Preferably a weighted pair. But not too heavy. Waiter/Waitresses had to be quick on their feet.

Crossing over from the kitchen and back into the dining room, Yvonne found her teammates already hard at work pushing the tables back in place.

"Uh… what do you think?" she whispered, her partner of all people the first to approach. Jumping from one of the nearby tables, Munbimon glided a circle around the barbarian. Landing back down, she cleared her throat.

"It looks alright on you." Munbimon remarked, climbing up onto Yvonne's shoulder. "Though, I kind of prefer the armor here."

Yvonne nodded, watching the rest of her teammates focus in on her. They look… content. Aren't used to her being in different outfits. That was for sure. Especially something that light and frilly.

"That's good enough." Marigold explained, pushing what looked to be the last of the tables in. After, her focus shifted to Bubbles, Madame, Ella and their partners. "Go to my wife and tell her you're the temporary help."

Ella gave a nod, making sure to grab hold of Madame as she headed off. Bubbles and Phusitmon followed, with the other two digimon making up the rear.

A single step into this strange sanctum and our group is assaulted by the wonderful scent of something. Of course, none of them could really see it. Well, not without creating an even bigger mess or destroying the kitchen.

"Why do I never get any of that?" Madame muttered, taking the time to make sure she was currently in her jumpsuit. The cook pays her no mind. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

The chef looked around, only to return to cooking. Well, stirring in this case. Great. You're making me hungry. Snack after this. Maybe.

"Down here."

Shifting her attention from the pot, the elf finally found our group of six. On the older end of things, locks of silvery white hair were the first things to draw our group of short heroes in. Faded eyes eventually found them, with a look of complete indifference towards Madame. Even more so when she was lifted up into the air and found herself face-to-face with the chef.

"You've shrunk." the chef muttered, Madame flailing about. That doesn't phase her. If anything, the grip tightens. "What happened? I thought you were big and strong."

Madame looked away. Try as she might, no tangible connection seemed to be there between her and this woman. Why couldn't she remember? She was supposed to be Madame Von Strauss. The greatest thief to ever grace Aldia. Were such an event as this lowly elf was describing had occurred, some memory would've existed. Discounting age (of which she was unsure of her own), she couldn't find anything. So she checked within her own head once more. Still nothing. Why did such memories seem insistent on evading her?"

'There's nothing there to begin with.' the other part of her thought. "That's a different Madame. Maybe."

Yet, Madame continued to struggle. Definitely correct, she wasn't going to admit that to 'them'. She was the one in the driver's seat at the moment. They had agreed 'reluctantly' to let her have this day. Tomorrow or the day after would be their turn. Or something along those lines.

"Like, let go of her!" Kollmon announced, flashing a claw in the elf's direction. Probably would help if Madame actually responded in some fashion. Instead of, I don't know, stewing over the lack of a particular memory. Beggars can't be choosers. Thankfully, Cinemon grabs hold and pulled the mole digimon back. Didn't stop Kollmon from copying her partner "That was totally rude!"

Cinemon let out a sigh.

"I get that you're trying to help, but this isn't." Cinemon barked, getting a chuckle from Ella. Unintentional puns are the worst. Especially ones that can be quite easily avoided in these situations. "Right now, this is more between Madame and this strange-looking woman than you and this woman."

Kollmon let out a deep breath, gaze returning to Madame. While her partner's motions had slowed down, it was quite clear she wasn't having any of this. Her focus was split between the chef and her teammates. Of which, Bubbles of all people was the shining star in the thief's vision. Interesting choice.

"Princess not want goop." Bubbles announced, his teammates attention now on him. "Why?"

The elf fell silent, grip on her captive loosening rapidly. The distance dropped thankfully is minimal. Then it's back to stirring. All while muttering to herself about something in a language I don't quite comprehend. Because of course she does. Then it's back to Madame and Bubbles for the moment. Better be good.

"That was her favorite meal." the elf whispered, a single droplet falling for the burner. A light hiss followed. "Or was her favorite meal."

Madame took a deep breath, a curtsey from Bubbles her reward. She chuckled, giving the dragon a slight head pat. Then it's right back to the elf. She already had to swallow quite a bit of her pride. This was just another helping of that. Though, this was even worse. She could've easily just walked out the door. So why hadn't she in that moment? Was it because she felt that this mess was somehow partially her fault? Had to be it.

"Sorry about that…" Madame mumbled, turning to Ella. The artificer nodded and took taking the time to clear her throat.

"Marigold asked us to act as your temporary help." Ella explained, watching the chef stare down towards them. Taking a deep breath, she pointed to a nearby set of stools. Our heroes complied. Attempted to at least.

For Madame this wasn't much of a challenge. The thief gave it a slight kick (don't do that out in public) and watched the stool slide on over. Ella just brought her turret out and set it down as a stepping stone. Which just left Bubbles.

"Ugh…" Phusitmon whispered, trying his best to even grab hold of the stool. Even with Bubbles's help, they weren't getting anywhere fast. "Little help here?"

Both Cinemon and Kollmon walked over. Putting their arms and in Cinemon's case - head on the unattended legs of the table, they joined in on this siege for the counter. It was actually quite successful, ignoring the fact that Phusitmon and Kollmon nearly slammed into the wall of the countertop.

"Phusie?" Bubbles mumbled, giving the plush rabbit digimon a tap. His partner stood back up and patted himself off. None worse for the worse. Hopefully.

"I'm alright." Phusitmon answered, grabbing hold of the stool's leg and began the climb up with relative ease. Bubbles followed right behind, having a bit of trouble. Thankfully, he had the help

"You're all here now?" the elf chef inquired, five heads nodding. Guess Cinemon decided he was just stay on the ground. Consider how unlikely people would want stray hairs in their meals, fair enough.

Letting out a sigh, she pulls what looks to be a knife out from the block and sets it in front of Madame.

"Can I trust you not to stab me?" the chef explained, hand still on the possible weapon. Madame let out a sigh. "The last time I gave you this, things went south and I was out a restaurant."

Freezing up, the thief muttered something to herself. The disconnect just seemed to grow between these two. Why did this woman seem so insistent on driving a further wedge between her that was right in front of her now and the supposed her from way back then. Hurts the head to an extent. No matter. Every time this mess comes up, I can only wonder if this is purposeful. This web a defense measure. Against who or perhaps what? I'm not entirely sure.

"I won't stab you." Madame whispered, letting out a sigh. Before she had a chance to dig herself into another inner monologue, a cutting board was placed down in front of her. The knife followed right after. "Thank you."

While that was happening, Blaze, Yvonne and their partners were up front greeting guests and taking customers orders. Overall, they look to be in a better shape than our kitchen group.

"Welcome to the Shakey Walls Cafe." Balamon greeted, slithering about in place. Normally, this wouldn't be so bad. That was what he had been doing this entire time. Of course, an orc had gotten grabby and was holding him up to their face. From the brief look the snake digimon was treated too, a black shirt and pants were in. Doesn't explain the strange choice of a piece of fabric hanging around their neck.

"Gorvor."

The orc shifted his gaze, Balamon doing the same. A second orc stood in the doorway. Dressed the same as his companion, a bulky metal bracelet hung around his left wrist. Some kind of strange wedding band? Maybe. Really need to look wedding

"Is this your husband by any chance?" Balamon inquired, getting a sigh from the orc.

"Yes." the orc in the doorway remarked, unfazed by the appearance of the talking snake his spouse is holding. "Probably should put him down. Definitely belongs to someone."

Almost on cue, Blaze and Yvonne walked up. Speak of the tiefling or something of similar measure or what have you.

"Sorry about that." Gorvor explained, setting Balamon down. After, their attention turned to the barbarian.

"Oh. Yvonne." Gorvor's husband remarked and entered the cafe. "Why the change of outfit?"

Yvonne's face turn a bright shade of cherry. She looked away, getting a sigh from Munbimon.

"We're helping Marigold out for the day." the ghost monkey explained, landing on the ground. Menu in hand. Somehow. "Would you like a menu?"

Looking down towards the monkey, the pair make sure they are seeing this right. They were. No need for the reminder that they are real or something.

While they look to regulars, they still take two. then it's a short walk over to a table.

"So, do you want me to get this table?" Blaze inquired. Yvonne sighted, shooting the orc pair a look. Then it's back to Blaze. With a sigh to boot. Something the matter? No. Probably just nerves at the moment. I guess a change of outfit makes a heck of a bigger difference than I thought it would in the first place.

"I got this." Yvonne answered and made her way over. "What can I get you two gentleman?"

Gazing up from their menus, the pair try their best to keep composure. Especially in the face of a much softer Yvonne.

"Uh…" Gorvor remarked, gaze back on his menu. Giving it one more read, then it's back to Yvonne. "I'll have some tomato soup."

The barbarian gave a nod, focusing in on Gorvor's husband. While still intent on looking at the menu, his gaze appeared to be on that of some plate shards left behind by the Artisan. Oops. Probably should've cleaned those up beforehand. Or not. I doubt most people would really consider eating a plate after having their meal. Probably a rule against it, now that I think about it. No matter.

"There was a little incident earlier today." the barbarian explained, shooting Blaze a glance. The fighter gave a nod, even if he was currently focused on manning the front. Just in case someone else decided to make an arrival and bring everything crashing down. Well, throw Yvonne for a loop is probably a more accurate statement. "Nothing major, just a real rude customer who challenged a friend of ours to an eating contest, Alan."

Alan gave a nod. Then he's back on his menu.

"I'll take a salad."

Yvonne gave a nod, the two orcs handing off their menus over to her. She headed off, watching Blaze's attention shift over to the pair. While she knew the fighter meant no harm, Yvonne could already feel the gazes of both men on her.

"Blaze…" she whispered, Blaze making his way over to the table. She left him to it.

"I'm Blaze." the fighter greeted, coming to a stop just before the table in question. "Do you think I can ask you something?"

The orcs shifted their focus over to him. Clearing his throat, Blaze piled his thoughts together and got ready to ask the one question on his mind. Well, it was more of Dave's question. Still applied here.

"Oh. You're that dancer boy." Gorvis announced, giving Alan a slight tap. "You're quite thrilling to watch. What is that we can do for you?"

Blaze looked away, trying his hardest to hide his fiery cheeks for the moment. Definitely not the reaction he was expecting to get in that moment. If anything, this was perhaps the complete opposite of what the fighter expected to hear.

"Uh… a friend of mine is looking for a job." Blaze continued. "You two look like business owners, so I was wondering what you do for work?"

Alan chuckled. Digging into his clothes, a bar of yellow something came out.

"Soap." Alan explained, setting the bar down on the table. "Take the fat left over from the butcher's meat, heat it up, throw in some sweet smelling stuff and wait for it to cool. Voila. You now have a bar of soap."

Blaze nodded, letting his focus sit on the bar of soap for the moment. While Dave seemed more than ready for a job, it probably was a good idea to at least get a location first before going all in on such a procedure.

"Where is your shop exactly?" Blaze remarked, gaze returning to the couple. No maps of Aldia seem to exist (for some reason), making this more of a challenge in listening and memorization than actual direction taking.

"You know where the markets are?" Gorvor remarked, the fighter nodding. "Good. We're the first shop on the right."

With that problem now resolved, Blaze let a smile form on his face. While not quite a job offer, it's a start. Which was more than he had a couple hours before.

"Thanks." he whispered, making his way back over to the door.

.

Of course, things had taken a turn for the worse in the kitchen.

"Madame, like put the knife down." Kollmon whispered, trying her best to calm the now irate thief from a possible rampage at the moment. The mole digimon had turned her back for just a moment, mostly to update Cinemon on the current goings on. When she turned back around, her partner was flashing a knife.

"She won't stop comparing me to her." Madame muttered, the temptation of getting up onto the counter jingling about her head. While hope had been placed on the earlier incident being just a fluke, that had been misplaced. Misshapen cuts of vegetables sit on a cutting board, a constant reminder. Seemed to be a lot of those across these two days. What was it that made people so insistent on pointing this difference out? While the arrival of these digimon could be to blame, that was a surface level issue. Maybe this had knowledge always been here in the first place, just swept under the rug.

"But that totally means you need to show her this you!" Kollmon remarked, getting a groan from Madame. Where was Bubbles when you needed him? Not here, as far as I can tell. "The past is like… past."

Madame took a deep breath, shifting her position on the stool. The knife was returned to the cutting board. The elf chef's attention shifted over to her, a sigh followed. Please don't kill each other. Already been a big enough mess without having to deal with a dead body at this point.

"You're nothing but an imposter." she muttered, watching Madame jump down from the stool and to the floor below. "You don't deserve to call you-"

A kick to the leg, Madame taking a deep breath right after.

"If I'm not her, who am I then?" they announced, really tempted to blow this place. If anything, that was what they should've done in the first place. Especially now that she had both Bubbles and Ella's gazes on her. "Who am I?"

Silence. Even seems to reach everyone else in the cafe. Even the customers who weren't mentioned but had come to get a meal. While it might not seem that way, it's actually been a couple hours. Which means I'm pulling a late one, Not usually my favorite thing to do. Especially with all the work I have in the morning. Oh well. A job's a job. For better or worse.

"Exactly." the thief muttered, smile on her face. "Maybe you should take back what you said."

Her opponent rolled their eyes. Getting down to be at her level, the elf chef took a deep breath. Looking away, she slowly let her focus be back on

"You win this round." the elf chef remarked, turning to Madame's mess. Getting back up, she gave the thief one last look. "Just know that this needs to an end. You all can't keep suffering for one choice made so long ago."

Madame nodded, watching Bubbles and Phusitmon run up. A hug followed. Even if that doesn't explain where these two were in the first place. Probably in some kind of timeout. At least, I think that's what happened while we were focusing on Blaze and Yvonne.

"I'll be back." she muttered, getting a chuckle in return. Out of the corner of her eye, she makes out something. "Good to know we're on the same page."

The two pairs head out, Ella and Cinemon doing the same. Except they were also carrying the meal for our two orcs. Fair enough.

"Here's your food." Ella explained, setting both plates down. "Oh. It's you two."

Alvin let out a chuckle.

"You seem to be busy right now, but the delivery should be ready soon." the orc explained, taking a spoonful of soup. "Just make sure you get us our payment."

Ella nodded and made her way over to Marigold. There, the waitress was deep in thought. Didn't look too happy. Eyes opening back up, her attention shifted to Madame. Taking a deep breath, Madame finds herself stared over.

"I'm sorry if my wife tried to snap your head off." Marigold remarked, getting a deep breath from Madame. "Just understand that we want you to live a life not dictated by the dead."

The thief rolled her eyes and headed for the door. Her entourage followed right behind, which provided Yvonne the perfect opportunity to get changed and grab her warhammer.

* * *

Notes:

Originally, this chapter was going to be a short part in the cafe and then jumping into the next day. Of course, I decided to expand it into a full-on chapter. Funny how that works.

.

Next Time: Yvonne tries her best in the face of the Artisan. Oh. And it happened again.


	17. In the shadow of night

I don't own digimon.

* * *

We come upon a new day in Aldia, still under the cover of darkness. Not the prettiest sight to be treated too on these jobs. Always been more of a fan of the sunrises and sunsets, not sure why. Brings us nicely to the home of Yvonne and Marulyn.

"Ugh…" Yvonne muttered, sitting up and gazed about the room. After leaving the cafe, she had managed to avoid Marulyn seeing her in that pinafore and had switched back to her usual armor and warhammer. Though, why do I get the feeling that somehow, something got misplaced? Not for Yvonne, but someone else in this case. Probably nothing. "Are you up, Munbimon?"

Munbimon glided over to her bed. Judging by the angle, she had been hanging from the ceiling of all places. Guess that makes sense, being a bat and all,

"Yep!" Munbimon answered, watching her partner shift her attention over to the opposite bed. While the bed looked disturbed, it was quite hard to really tell in the dark, "Marulyn already up?"

Yvonne shook her head. Getting up, she made her way over to Marulyn's bed. Giving it a slight shake, one Madame von Strauss rolled on out. Dressed in her jumpsuit for the moment, she looked to have been waiting at least a couple hours. After getting

"Hello." Madame muttered, making a beeline for her armor. The quick hands of our barbarian grab hold and hoist her up to be at Yvonne's level. "You have my whip."

Yvonne let out a sigh. It was far too early to be dealing with Madame, though I'm not entirely sure when it would be an acceptable time to do so. Possibly never. Though, can I just say… Called it! Sorry. Just had to point that out in this particular moment.

"Okay…" the barbarian remarked, heading back over to her armor. Picking up the weapon, she handed it over to Munbimon. Then we're back over to Madame. She doesn't look too amused. Especially as she's now getting treated to Yvonne getting into her armor at the moment. Considering the fuss she made yesterday, kind of understandable. "How did you get in?"

Madame rolled her eyes. Pretty obvious how this all happened.

"Picked the lock." the thief muttered, picking up a pillow and flung it towards Munbimon. The result was sadly not the whip dropping to the ground. Instead, she missed Munbimon entirely and nearly beaned herself with the pillow on the way back down. "Did nearly get scared by your girlfriend on the way over."

Yvonne chuckled, slipping her hands into gauntlets. While she would like to know where her helmet had disappeared too, that was something to ask Marulyn when she inevitably found her. Probably did something to it in the hopes of making her life easier. Which it rarely did. If anything, it usually made her life that much harder in the process.

"Do tell." she remarked, getting a sigh from the thief. Madame mumbled something to herself, then cleared her throat.

"I headed through the entrance of these 'alleyways' and was spotted." she explained, trying her hardest to stay refined in this situation. "She asked me where my little dragon friend was."

Yvonne chuckled. Which in turn, got Munbimon another pillow thrown her way.

"That's what Bubbles is at times." the barbarian remarked, finding herself in the middle of a glaredown of all things. Okay. Not expecting that reaction of all things.

"He's a shining example of all the things I need to avoid." Madame announced and found herself on the receiving end of a head pat. "What? You think otherwise?"  
Yvonne doesn't answer, having now finished her armor. Which is exactly Munbimon's cue to land on her back and hand back off the whip. Quite a smooth transfer. Especially considering what the consequences of failing are in this moment.

"He's like five, maybe six." Yvonne countered, getting down on Madame's level."I think you're giving him far more credit than what's on offer here."

The slap that our barbarian here gets is kind of uncalled for. Especially when you consider that one, this is her home. Two, Madame forgoed waiting and instead chose to break in. And three, she was trying to explain what is absolutely a simple concept to someone as boneheaded as Madame was being at the moment.

Of course, someone else had other ideas at the moment. They took the form of a vial of acid thrown right at the door.

"Really?" Yvonne muttered, throwing the whip down to her unwilling accomplice for the moment. "Can I at least ask for your help with this?"

Madame let out a sigh. Why did she always get thrown into these sorts of situations. 'They' were about to take control, which in turn made the situation all the more harder. Not that this was really saying much in the face of the mess they had already created.

"Yeah." they answered, catching a look from the barbarian. Perhaps it was the sudden change of tone or really the dropping of the subject. Not that such things really were a big deal at the moment. If anything, this helped with focusing on the main problem at the moment. Which was the arrival of the Artisan at this hour. I guess he's making good on his promise. For some reason. Would've prefered he give it one more day to maybe think this through and all, but what can you really do? Not much.

"Was not expecting for you to have someone with you." the Artisan remarked, taking in Yvonne and Madame for the moment. "Run along, Granny. I want to have a battle with just the orc lady."

While the other personality might be in control for the moment, I don't think giving a singular finger Is a solid response in return. Especially with the way that Yvonne was currently holding her at the moment.

"Too bad?" Yvonne announced, reluctantly setting Madame down and grabbing her warhammer in response to that. "Though, I will need to ask you to not do that again."

The Artisan rolled his eyes. This time, he had made the effort of having breakfast on the ship base thing he and Carinamon were calling home. Judging by their timing, probably something warm. Maybe without eggs? Yeah, I can definitely see that after the whole mess yesterday,

"Nice place you got here." he announced, gazing about the alleyways. "Though, I'm a little disappointed."

Yvonne shot him a confused glance. While she had no way of really knowing this man's expectations for such a place, I'm going to assume that he was expecting something else entirely. Maybe a collection of buildings that look ramshackle and dirty? Or perhaps he was not expecting orcs to be the way they are? Maybe something large and brutish, with little time for things like cuteness and this 'whole same-sex' thing. If anything, I'm surprised we haven't been treated to an orcish-styled princess with a thing for frills and poofy skirts. Come on, there has to be one of th-

"Oh, am I interrupting something?"

Speak of the devil I guess. A wannabe orcish princess, decked to the brim with frills and lots of poofy ratty-looking skirts. Her hair is all brushed up into a large twisting tour of yellow and red hair. What appear to be her succubus bodyguard is decked out in the armor that may have once adorned this beautiful princess. Aww… they look like they're cuddling. Though, it would appear the succubus wants to be done with today. Fair enough.

"Yes you are, Princess Belladonna." Yvonne barked, watching the pair give a nod and turn around. Taking a deep breath, she turned her attention back to the Artisan. Though, his gaze was more focused on the strange pair. Which I guess makes sense.

"Yuck, a princess." her opponent announced, spitting on the ground. Which comes right as his partner begins swinging his claws about. I see where this is going. That bastard. We just can't have nice things, can we? "Let me guess, that's a guy?"

Yvonne took a deep breath. While the Artisan had been far more graceful when it came to the whole same sex thing. How exactly would this go. If anything, might be better to play this one safe. But this was just as good of a moment to see her opponent's true colors. Or at the very least, a tiny piece of it.

"Yes." Yvonne answered, warhammer at the ready. "His parents thought they were getting a girl, so you can imagine their surprise when they got a boy."

The Artisan rolled his eyes, the cyclone formed right beside him. Uh… maybe you don't want to stand so close to that? You're the bad guy and all, but that doesn't seem like a good move even for you. Don't let it stop you though.

"Shut it." the Artisan muttered, target now far away. So he focused back on the barbarian for the moment. "Let's dance."

Yvonne shot him a confused glance, but picked up her warhammer just in case. Which made the charge by way of her opponent even more apparent. So she aimed to the side.

"Hit me!"

Uh… I'm not sure what to tell you here. Especially since you're in the mood to charge head-on into this without much thought.

"You do realize I have no clue what this hammer would do to your body?" Yvonne explained, getting a shrug from Carinamon of all people. Okay, maybe their skeleton is stronger than one would think per say? Yeah.

"Just seems so odd." the Artisan remarked, looking over the orcs and succubi who have gathered to see what the heck was even going on. "Usually, these are two races are complete opposites. Orcs are usually dominated by bulky men and a need to pillage; Succubus are usually seductresses who steal men's souls and drain them of all their life. There's no way this should work at all."

The crowd looked among each other and just shrugged. Some of the more immature members cracked jokes just as immature as them. But they were ignored for the obvious reasons. Even if that did make the Artisan even more frustrated. Perhaps he dealt with these sorts of customers on a daily basis. Unless they were adventurers and/or a member of a group. Though, I guess some of the latter could use it as an excuse to leave town by way of a failed 'goings-on'. What? There's children who probably view this work. Beyond that though, it would seem he was intrigued to an extent. Had he really gotten so used to his clientele of his store? That had to be it. Such a change normally wouldn't bother him as much as this do in this moment. But this needed to be explored, understood to an extent. Deciphered beyond the base differences that he could see.

"You got me interested." the Artisan announced, pulling out a seed packet. Flinging it towards Yvonne, the barbarian did her best to get out of the way. While she wasn't hit, the vines that were now sprouting out all around the area seemed intent on changing that. "Now, I can't seem to let go."

That pun was just awful. I really hope you're happy with it, since that was just painful for me to hear on my end.

The Artisan just shrugged. He doesn't really care in that regard. I guess expecting that much was beyond my abilities at the moment. Figures. Can't have nice things, even here.

"Need some help?" Madame remarked, whip swaying at her side. Yvonne shot her a glance, letting a sigh out in the process.

"Yes." she answered, slamming her warhammer into one of the currently sprouting vines. "If you see Marulyn, ask her nicely to come help."

Madame let out a groan, but nodded nonetheless. They were more than willing to help in that moment, even if the thief didn't know where exactly she should start looking in the first place. Sure, the idea of casing a place was nothing new to them. But that was usually 'her' speciality. Maybe they could burrow those abilities for just a moment? Judging by the switching from the gown to the jumpsuit (I guess they changed during the conversation?), they're looking to give it a shot.

"Let's see here." they thought, scanning the area. While finding an elven woman in an area populated with orcs was a bit of a breeze, not exactly knowing where to go didn't help. Mental map, anyone? "I did see her by the gate, maybe she's still the-"

Before the chance to head forward could appear, the vines decided to make a beeline over to her. In retrospect, maybe bringing Kollmon would've been a go-

"Hah!"

Yvonne's warhammer slammed into the vines, making a path through the foliage. Which the thief took in stride. Especially considering Marulyn was just out of earshot of all of this.

"Hey, your girlfriend needs you at the moment!" they announced, catching what looked to be multiple sets of glowing eyes. Suits of orcish armor sprung to life, succubus wings of all things flapping in the wind. Wait… those were just up on the rooftops? Guess that's what Marulyn was working on. To an extent. Though, that doesn't explain where she even got the armor in the first place. Or why wings have been fitted onto the armor in the first place. Maybe a way of fitting the armor to these new members of the tribe? Or perhaps this was done by Marulyn to make them more agile.

"Infuse!" the Artisan announced, the purple goop outline appearing once more. "Toxin."

The vines began to sprout even faster now, their targets seeming to be on the strange suits of armor. While maneuverable, they seem to be a bit on the mindless side. By that, I mean they all take their time in noticing that they are being attacked by the vines. Even when they do, it's still a challenge to get them actually attacking. In turn, brings Yvonne's warhammer dangerously close into the animated suits of armor.

"Marulyn!" Yvonne screeched, her girlfriend jumping down from the rooftop and over to the barbarian. The look that follows from both her and Munbimon is kind of justified in that moment. Especially since the occupants of the alleyways are now running around and screaming their heads off. All the more helpful in this situation.

"Sorry." Marulyn whimpered and let her gaze sit more on the floor, getting a deep breath in return from her girlfriend. Looking back up, Yvonne was still facing her down. But now, she at least looked a touch less frustrated. Even with Madame right beside her.

"I get that you want to help out in my duties." Yvonne explained and watched Marulyn look away. At the moment, one of the suits was buried in the ground. The other two suits in action were fighting a losing battle against the vines. Not the results the mage was looking for, that's for sure. Especially now that said vines had a chance to escape from this place and flood out into the surrounding areas of Aldia. But right now, she needed to be helping Yvonne. It was the least she could offer.

* * *

Notes:

Bit of a rougher chapter, but nothing a little editing couldn't fix. Though, it is weird to be on the third chapter and not be at the end of an arc. Kind of nice to an extent.

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Next Time: We have a fist-pounding good time.


	18. How I met my girlfriend

I don't own digimon.

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Chapter 18

How I met my girlfriend

As ways to start one's day, giant plants are definitely not the best. Especially when you add in the arrival of these strange succubus automatons and Madame for Yvonne at the moment.

"So let me get this straight," the barbarian announced, swinging her warhammer into one of the plants. Smashing right through the one, two more sprouted up to take the place of it. "You took my helmet, enchanted it and then out comes these succubi things?"

Marulyn nodded, attention split between her girlfriend and her golems. She had hoped to keep this a surprise of sorts, brought up when the pair went on their first actual date. Life sometimes doesn't work out that way. A shame, but an understandable one at the moment.

"Yeah." she remarked. "There kind of a work in progress."

Yvonne let out a sigh, trying her best to not let her frustration get the better of her in that moment. What was with Marulyn and trying to make things 'easier'? The need for war had long since quelled from the hearts of her tribe. By and large, most incidents she could handle without any trouble. The few times that she did need assistance, she knew who exactly to grab. It was the job her parents had given to her as the one sole responsibility to these people. Sure, training Marulyn was an extension of that job, but it was still the same job. Stuff like the teddy bear and the enchanted armor seemed like nice gestures, but they always seemed to backfire on her. Case in point, that teddy bear. Soothing the emotions of a single child was good enough, but somehow managing to stay out of its original owner's hands for well over a year was just silly. Even trying to give it to her mom had been a bust. That should've been a proper solution to this absurd puzzle she found herself trapped in. The solution was absolutely obvious (throw the teddy bear at her girlfriend), but that felt rude. Even in this situation. So she let her attention turn to Munbimon for the briefest of moments. A nod from the ghost monkey. Then she's back on the targets - the vines.

"Infuse." Yvonne announced, the gray outline forming once more around her body. "Spirit!"

Once more, her warhammer took on a weightless quality. In any other situation this would be a cause for concern. Not here.

Instead, Yvonne slammed the weapon's head into the street. Multiple vines were pulled together… only to fuse into a singular humongous, poisonous plant. 'Teeth' sprouted out from the top of the vines, sharp and definitely toxic if contact is made. Large spiky leaves erupted from the sides, ready to slice part anything nearby. Multiple laws in regards to sentient plants have been violated in this one particular moment. This is the work of a dungeon builder, not a simple shopkeeper.

"So what?" the Artisan announced, he and carinamon letting out a laugh. If one didn't know any better, you probably would've thought they were a pair of clowns with that sound. Not a pair of villains. Though, that weird finger that you're flashing is really not helping with this situation. "Does it really matter? Maybe I got it off some stupid adventurer?! How about that?"

His gaze shifted to the ground, mutterings of something following right after. Even here, it still wasn't good enough. While were they always so insistent on having the highest strength of health potion? Didn't they understand that creating such potions required training, of which cost a fortune in the first place? Then, his offers of free pieces of aged cheeses would always go unanswered. Not even the rats (small or humanoid) would take a piece. Sure, his cheese making process was a bit volatile. But he had gotten better. Now, the cheese was at least edible. Huge step-up from blowing up in your mouth (which begs even more questions than it's worth at the moment).

Yet, Yvonne gave her opponent little mind. She hadn't even noticed his breakdown. Considering that there's a giant poisonous plant running amok at the moment, that was her main priority. Fair enough. We're not all omnipotent voices projecting from another world.

"Get back!" she shouted, catching a brief glimpse of an orc making the right call and booking it somewhere safe. Hopefully. After, the barbarian motioned for Madame and Marulyn. The mage made her approach, while the thief decided not too for the moment. Which in turn, got her a nice dose of mage hand.

"Need some help?" Marulyn remarked, grabbing hold of Madame from her spectral hand thing. Never think I can get used to that. Yes, I understand all the practical uses of the spell and the versatility of having a disembodied hand floating about. But that's the thing, the whole floating hand. Yes, I know how weird it is. It's just the thing just materializes out of thin air. How the heck are you supposed to be certain that it isn't someone else's hand that's just disappeared off of them? That, and it doesn't work with any of the tools I use in my narration. Kind of a waste on my end.

Back with our trio, Munbimon was currently in the process of gliding circles around the plant. The suits of armor had sadly past. Definitely going to need some tweaks of sorts. Maybe have an actual soul of some kind to serve as an operator and then as a buddy for those handful of times you actually wear the suit. No sign of Yvonne's helmet though. Must still be up on one of the rooftops. Unless Marulyn has done something special in regards to enhancing it. Wouldn't be too surprising.

"Marulyn, I need you to get everyone out of the alleyways for the moment." Yvonne barked, getting a nod from her girlfriend in return. Focusing in on Madame, the barbarian took a deep breath. While she didn't entirely trust the thief, she was all she had with her at the moment. That, and she was bound to be agile. Hopefully. "Can I trust you to help her out?"

Madame muttered something under her breath, gaze not even on Yvonne at the moment. So much for being refined at the moment. Probably the result of the plants going all crazy at the moment. On top of the stress she was no doubt under at the moment, dead bodies and all that junk. Eventually, her gaze returned to Yvonne. A sigh followed. Says it all.

"Fine. I'll help your girlfriend out." Madame muttered, taking the time to whack the Artisan with her whip.

"It's not your turn yet!" her 'opponent' screeched, getting an eye roll in return. Yeah. You're not winning that battle, bucko. "That's it. The day after tomorrow, I'm dealing with you!"

Putting her whip away, Madame pulled out a book of sorts and a pencil. Opening it up, she began looking it over.

"How does midday sound to you?" the thief remarked, watching the Artisan pull out a book and pencil of his own.

"Yeah. I can fit you into my schedule." he remarked, getting a look from Yvonne. What? You don't schedule your fights? You must be a normal person. Though, that goes without saying to an extent. Of course not.

Yvonne let out a cough,. Marulyn and Madame heading off to warn everyone. As the sun begins to rise upon the day, an idea came to the barbarian. Letting go of her warhammer, she found it just sitting there.

"Guess it truly is weightless." Munbimon chimed, taking a seat on Yvonne's shoulder. She watched her wiped some sweat away and then pull a fist back. The jab that followed seemed to bring the head of the plan forward. All for it to retaliate with a swing from one of the leaves. The taste of warhammer to follow is quite quick, especially since she's just back to punching at the moment. An uppercut to the head, with the plant going for a low sweep. Then a headbutt.

"Stupid plant." Yvonne muttered, grabbing hold of her warhammer and pulling the weapon behind her. The swing reached high, hitting both the head of the plant and the leaves. Though, the actual damage was surprisingly minimal.

.

As honors went, getting to adventure alongside was kind of a mixed bag for Marulyn. Sure, both of her mothers would be throwing a complete fit. Not that she was any better with her experiments and long term plans. That was something to throw an actual fit over.

"You're not going to talk my ear about I'm a fake and that I'm not really her?" Madame chimed, Marulyn forcing herself to kneel down to at least be on the thief's level for the moment. She didn't get either of her parents need to bring that up like it was one huge mystery. Maybe it had something to do with their age.

"Is there anything else I can talk to you about?" Marulyn continued, getting a shrug from Madame in return. Most of the orcs had gotten the initial message, which made their mission a tiny bit of a waste. The nature of the alleyways made for far too many hiding spots, meaning that every corner and passage needed to be checked. Don't want the one time you forgot to check the middle corner and it turned out there was some young orc or succubus hanging about in there. Even worse if they were somehow harmed in this whole fiasco.

"There is, actually." Madame remarked, trying their best to decide on something to ask about. Then something came to them. "How did you meet Yvonne? If you don't mind me asking, of course."

Marulyn looked away. She hadn't expected to be put on the spot by Madame von Strauss of all people. While the stories the mage had heard were less than pleasant, why exactly would she want to know about this of all things. There was bound to be better ways of finding out. Like I don't know, maybe asking Yvonne directly. You're her teammate after all, Madame. This isn't mad science we're talking about in this moment. Just simple relationship prying. Nothing big, you could lie to an extent. Oh right. They can't hear me.

"I met her when I was fifteen." Marulyn remarked, shooting the large plant out in the distance a quick glance. While Yvonne was making considerable progress at the moment. She was nowhere close to being done and to some extent, looking to be on the receiving end of a couple of nasty bruises. Hopefully nothing poi-

"How about we kick this up a notch?!"

What sounds like a jar of something awful being flung echoed throughout the alleyways. Yep. That idiot just made this fight harder because he could. What an asshole. There's already enough shit going on at the moment without more getting added right on top of it. Guess we can't have nice things in that regard. Goes without saying.

"As you were saying, dear?" Madame inquired, the pair turning a corner at the moment. Still no o-

"Help!"

So much for continuing the conversation at the moment, since we finally have someone in need of rescuing at the moment - an orc trapped under a large rock. Foot wasn't able to get out in time when the vines were all rambling about.

"Are you alright?" Marulyn called out, getting a thumbs up of sorts in return. Bringing forth her hand, she carefully maneuvered it over to the man. "Madame, would you kindly?"

A groan, followed by the whip grabbing hold of the orc. While the hand pushed the rock upward, Madame pulled the unlucky guy over.

"Thank you…" the orc mumbled, making a beeline for the exit. Hopefully, avoiding the large monstrous plant intent on killing everyone. Actually, maybe it just wants to leave but can't. That would be different. Or the usual 'take over the world'. Because that makes a lot of sense for a plant to want in that moment. Not.

"It was kind of an accident that I met her." Marulyn explained, surveying the nearby area. "I had supposedly gotten out from somewhere and was running around the alleyways. At some point, I kind of, sort of ran into her."

Madame gave a nod, giving Marulyn a quick once over. While she couldn't be certain on that math per say, the mage looked to be around Yvonne's height. As weird as that sounded. While her proportions outside of that were slightly less than the barbarian's, it probably meant she was around Yvonne's age. Among other things.

"Does she ever give you piggyback rides?"

Marulyn looked away, muttering something under her breath. Didn't catch, but Madame definitely did. Can only wonder what it is. Something naughty? Maybe. Morbid? Perhaps.

"That can't be right." Madame thought, the other part already scheming. While such information I can only assume is valuable, that doesn't change how secretive this all is. Guess I'll make a note of it for later and then throw down ideas in my book. Probably come back later as some sort of flashback.

Right now though, there were more people to save. As in, more rocks to be moved. No sounds of struggle at the moment. Good. Idiot has already done enough trouble and it isn't even time for breakfast yet. Now I want some as well. Didn't have a snack last night so I'm kind of running on empty. After this, I'll eat something and maybe take a short nap.

This time, it was more a matter of brute strength than magical prowess. Both women working together to rescue the stranded group of orcs and succubi.

"Madame von Strauss!" one of the orcs announced, catching the thief by complete surprise. While fans of her/their work were common, to see it here in the stomping ground of her 'nemesis' felt kind of good. Joyful to an extent. "Why aren't you helping Yvonne and her strange monkey thing with the large plant?"

Scratch that. Now she was just pissed. Sure, it isn't her fault that Yvonne sent her off to help with finding people.

"Sorry about this." Marulyn remarked, getting a nod from the orc. She followed right behind the thief, mage hand at the ready. "Madame, come back here!"

With each step, the giant plant monster grew closer. With it, the sound of punching and metal slamming into plant fiber growing louder. Yvonne had to be nearing the end of her stamina and to some extent, the end of the plant's strength. Both the Artisan and Carinamon had taken to sitting on the ground, idling their thumbs as the two forces went to battle. Not very productive in regards to this whole 'evil' thing. Not even an insult? You were full of those less than a day or so.

"Shut it." the Artisan muttered, shooting both arrivals a glance. Then he's right back on the large plant creature. "It's already bad enough to accidentally douse yourself in your own potion. Rubbing it in is just salting that wound."

All three women turned and gave him a look. Not the reaction you expect to get out of here. Begs even more questions.

Madame ran up to Yvonne, giving her a slight tap. Turning around, the barbarian didn't even take the time to get on her level.

"Yes?" she remarked, getting ready to grab hold of her warhammer once more. The crack of a whip brought a swift end to that, on top of vanquishing this strange floral beast in one rather simple sweep.

"You should probably keep an eye on your girlfriend." Madame muttered, getting a look from her teammate. While Yvonne knew that to an extent, what did the thief know that she didn't? Whatever it was, that could be deciphered some other day. Right now, her focus was squarely on the Artisan at the moment. Or would've been, if not for the fact that he and Carinamon were waving at them. So she focused on the state of the alleyways. While a considerable effort would need to be made, the repairs looked to be mostly decorative with only a few places structurally that needed to be repaired.

Nonetheless, she turned to face Marulyn and Madame. Okay, just Marulyn. Since Madame decided to book it for the moment.

"Thank you." she remarked, watching her girlfriend perk up. But there was something off. The mage had that look to her. While it had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, that was all the more cause for concern.

.

Back on the Distant Harmony base, things were relatively peaceful. Though, it would seem that girl from the other day is in better spirits. Well, drow to be exact. Though, the long flowing golden kimono decorated with a spiderweb theme is quite beautiful on its own.

"Uh… Would you like to play a round of Magia Scramble, Mr Ra- Artisan, sir?" she greets, shifting what appeared to be a strange-looking demon mask back on. A sigh seemed to be her answer, followed by the Artisan taking a seat.

"It's just Rantha here, Melody." he remarked, mask coming off and revealing the face of this broken man. Brown eyes and wrinkled skin on full display. "Sure, I'll play a round with you."

Melody perked up, controller handed over.

* * *

Notes:

This was quite fun to write. Mostly by way of giving me an excuse to have a scene with pure attacks. No shouting, just actions. If that makes sense. Outside of that, the scene with Melody was added after the fact.

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Next Time: Blaze and Dave try to go shopping, but life has other plans.


	19. Romantic Flow

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Blaze hadn't expected to find Dave in his lap when he woke up. Or for that matter, Dave cradling his scimitar in his arms. The former was a welcome surprise of sorts. Latter less so in this situation. Strange sprinkles that lightly covered the general area weren't so welcome either. The yawning that it had brought forth too. Get that out. You'll all make me sleepy. We don't want that. A sleepy Mr Lore Mage is never good when it comes to . That's wheeen mistrwaeaf are made.

Oops. Just ignore that last sentence. Sleep has been a bit rough at the moment. Definitely not a sign of things to come. Hopefully.

Back with our fighter, he leaned forward slightly. While the difference of weight on his body was quite an odd feeling, the warmth brought forth was totally worth it. An actual bed though, might be something to think about. Especially if this becomes a frequent occasion later down the road.

"Hey…" Blaze whispered, catching a glimpse of Balamon. "Did something happen?"

Balamon took a deep breath. Which made Blaze even more confused. He had been pretty tired after helping out at the cafe, so he decided to forgo his usual practice and just headed to bed with Dave. While he would've gone about doing that right now, he had a feeling that there was something else entirely he needed to be focusing on.

Carefully setting his boyfriend down and pulling the blade from his lap, the fighter took the time to slip on a shirt (to answer the obvious question, he was already wearing pants to begin with). Balamon followed right behind, comfortably hanging from Blaze's shoulder for the moment. He watched as his partner skip his way over, hand casually on the knob. There had to be a reason for Dave freaking out. That was a good thing to ask him about though. The perfect icebreaker for a date. Should such an event eventually occur between the two and able to be recorded to some extent. Getting ahead of myself here. Sure, they've already shared a 'bed' and one of them has seen the other naked and stuff. Compared to our other loving pair, Blaze is ready for just about anything. Not as long as it involves them getting it on. Can't have that.

"Here goes nothing." the fighter remarked, twisting the knob and pulling the door open. Right after, he slammed it shut. There was no way that something so large could've gotten to this spot. It couldn't be. Just couldn't be. No way a large plant had taken root and blocked access out of the house. But that was what had taken root at the moment. Stupid pun.

Pulling the door open and scimitar back, blade met plant. Results were what you expect to an extent. So Blaze turned to his boyfriend, tapping him on the shoulder. Dave roused from his slumber and looked all about. Eventually, he shifted his attention back over to Blaze.

"I'm guessing the plant thing is gone?" the former grunt remarked, the nod from his boyfriend sealing it. Taking a deep breath, his gaze turned to the sparkles. "Some little woman flung that junk at us, claiming that things might get rough and that we should get some time to rest."

Blaze sighed, a faint suspicion forming in his head. Sure, Madame had forgotten to grab her whip off of Yvonne after the time at the cafe. But why she go out of her way to knock them out. He liked to believe she was at least an acquaintance. Maybe. Outside of things going south with Yvonne, there isn't really a reason to go that far. Unless…

"No, that's just silly." Blaze thought, really hoping to god that it wasn't who he thought it was. Sure, it probably was and that meant having to confront her, but the fighter wanted to believe that they could all be friends to an extent. Hopefully. So he shifted his attention back to his boyfriend. "Dave, do you think I can get you some clothes and stuff?"

Dave got up, looking to his cloak. Short-term, this was more than enough clothes to have on hand. The expectation had been that the Artisan and by extension - Distant Harmony would provide some form of transport back to their base. But look where that got him and his teammates. Stuck on a world they didn't even know the name of. No support system and only the possible kindness of strangers to get them through this rough patch. Quite awful for a group of people to do. Though, that might just be the teacher in me. Today, there was an assembly with a bunch of Sea Mages. Came from some tropical place with their sea hag chaperone. Quite surreal to see one. Before the event, I got a chance to talk to her. Nice woman. Cares a lot for her students, even if she does get tired of all the baby eating jokes. Most hags (according to her at least) have switched to adopting. Far less of a haggle on top of being more 'acceptable'.

As for the sea mages, they're sorcerers. Which is an odd choice to bring to a wizard academy, but that's not my call. Which in turn, I know absolutely nothing about. Sorry. Us wizards have a tendency to stick to the affairs of other wizards. Oops. I got on quite a tangent there. My bad. Considering how long it's been since I've gotten to talk about this stuff, it works out in the end. Kinda. Ran out of wizard classes to talk about with you (the viewer). Might need to hit the books.

Back with our pair, Blaze was now dressed in his leotard and began his exercises as Dave watched. Grace on full display, the show is as beautiful as ever. Especially as our fighter has begun to try and string it together into one cohesive routine. Kind of makes you want to see those traveling dancers now. What sort of performances do they put on that make them so famous.

"Good job." Dave announced, Blaze's cheek going as pink as they could possibly get. He looked away, trying his best to compose himself.

"You're improving." Balamon added, Blaze taking this compliment slightly better with a simple nod. Not entirely sure what the snake digimon is basing his observations on.

"Thanks." the fighter answered, cheeks still burning brightly. Hanging the leotard back up for the moment, he slipped back into his regular outfit. With all the walking they were going to do, it would suck if he accidentally ruined that particular outfit. Not something that the fighter wished to really risk.

"Ready to go?" he inquired, a nod from both of his companions as he headed for the door. Pulling it open, Blaze made sure to shut it tight. While not a deterrent for thieves, it's the thought that counts. Kinda? Not really sure in this situation.

Outside, the remains of the plant laid messily in front of the door. Highly doubtful to be edible, definitely poisonous in some aspect.

"So where are we going?" Dave inquired, nearing the Black Cat Inn. While he hadn't seen the inn, it looked alright. Better than some lodging he had seen back on his world. But by no means the best. Though, it had been a while since he actually put some thought into it.

"The shopping district." Blaze answered, taking the time to give Ella and Cinemon a wave. Barely, he could make out both a hand and paw. But that was not the end of familiar faces

"Blaaz!"

Bending down, Blaze scooped Bubbles up. While the little dragon was still dressed in his princess getup, he looked… confused.

"Bubbles, do you know where Madame went?" the fighter inquired, getting a confused look and a yawn. You're really tempting fate here. Don't do that to me. Been a long day, even without the assembly that I had to be at earlier.

The look all about from our dragon here says it all. Probably got some pretty pleasant dreams. Hopefully. Would suck if he hadn't and there wasn't anything to see.

"Princess went off." Bubbles explained, gaze on the ground. "Gone. Not friends?"

Blaze took a deep breath. Not a good way to explain this. But he was going to have to try to an extent. Especially with his boyfriend watching on, quite confused about what was even happening at the moment. So he turned to Dave and whispered something into his ear. After a few seconds, he received a nod. Then it's back to Bubbles.

"You're still friends." Blaze explained, giving Bubbles a head pat. In turn, the dragon carefully rubbed up against his friend's body. It felt nice. Kind of like how his leotard felt on his body while wearing it. "Madame just needed some time away from you and everyone else. Speaking of which, where Phusitmon?"

Bubbles looked away, perking up as a small plush rabbit came into view. Doesn't look too happy. I wouldn't be too if my partner ran off on me. Not that I've really had one in the first place. The life of a solo lore mage. Okay, outside of working with my fellow teaching assistant and students in a mix of work and school assignments. In retrospect, this metaphor sounded a hell of a lot better in my head. But here written out it's… alright.

"There you are." Phusitmon announced, scrambling up Blaze's leg and chest to get up to his partner. Maybe wait for him to get you down first. Or if nothing else, ask first before you go jumping on someone? People these days. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright." Blaze answered and set the pair down. Which made it the perfect moment for Bubbles to wander up to Dave. A curtsy, followed by a hug to the leg. "This is Dave. He's my boyfriend."

Dave looked down, taking the time to kneel down to be right around the dragon's level. While no additional curtsy occured, he did make sure to not rough up the dress. Quite nice of him.

"Daav!" Bubbles chimed, getting a head pat from the former grunt. On top of a sigh from his partner. Yes, it's cute. Less than professional too. He's a child. Stuck in a story where the other heroes are all adults. Man. That's kind of fucked up. Who the hell reads this stuff?

Sorry. Just had to ask the honest question here. Even if no such answer could possibly

"Would you like to join for some shopping?" Blaze explained, getting what looked to be a nod from both the dragon and the plush rabbit digimon. Hopefully. "Okay. Phusitmon, is there anything that you need?"

Phusitmon shook his head. Bubbles was pretty content on walking around with or without clothes. Which compared to his friends, seemed kind of odd. Though, that could be

"Not that I can think of at the moment." he answered, turning to Dave. "So this is your boyfriend of what? A Couple days?"

Dave nodded, letting out a low chuckle. Had it really been such a short period. Had to be. Unless his mind had been playing some elaborate trick on him. Sure, he was possibly pushing a bit too fast for both him and Blaze. Contrary to all these 'games' (games?) love doesn't just… happen. You need to put some work in it. They were both at the start of this long, complicated journey and anything could happen. Which made it all the more exciting to an extent. Especially since this was technically a gift from Blaze to him.

"Yeah." he explained, giving Phusitmon a pet. The plush rabbit didn't even blink. Not that I think he actually can in the first place. If that's true, that must mean. "So you're like Balamon."

Balamon chuckled, slithering his way down to Dave.

"Kinda." the snake digimon explained, shooting Phisitmon a glance. "He's more related to digimon like Monzaemon."

Blaze's gaze swiveled on over, catching the briefest glances of the shopping district. While he registered the words, they didn't quite mean anything for the moment. Same for me. We're in for a treat, in other words. Love it when my job is done for me.

"Monzaemon are large yellow teddy bear digimon." Phusitmon explained, Bubbles following right behind as we get our first good look at the shopping district. Much like the rest of Aldia, cobblestones lined the walkways with a 'circle' of buildings surrounding it. They look to be more of those gray walls. But these have wood inserts to differentiate things out. "They like giving hugs and cuddling. Except they are all bigger than those orc things."

Blaze came to a stop. Sure, someone like Yvonne was pretty tall. But for someone to exist that was somehow taller than her. That sounded kind of crazy. But, he could see that being a possibility. Which reminded him.

"After we get your clothes, I have some 'friends' who are in the soap making business." Blaze explained, watching Dave's gaze slip over to him. "We can check it out, but no guarantees on a job or anything."

Dave nodded. He hadn't expected Blaze to be so on board with him getting a job. More of a suggestion on his note to him the other day, it was kind of nice to see him so receptive to such an idea. Even if he didn't have anything in the way of a 'resume' (whatever that means) or a proper set of clothes to interview in. The latter thankfully, is a problem eas-

"Blaze, could you get me that?" Dave announced, pointing to a glass display of a nearby store. There, a garment that is very clearly a maid dress hung proudly. Unlike those that Madame's maids sported, this one was colored a dark cyan with frilly white lace. The sleeves were puffed up around the shoulders with the skirt of the garment coming down around the wearer's ankles. The feet of which currently fitted into a set of dark cyan mary janes. As for the head, that had a frilly headband to fit into the hair.

Yet, Blaze took a deep breath and approached the glass. While the price had clearly been marked down, that was still a good chunk of money. Money meant for the time that the dance troupe came into town and the possibility of something coming up on the road. Accidents, illnesses, stuff like that. Right now, that dream seemed to be changing. While he could still dance, maybe not with the troupe. Or perhaps for a short stint then back with his boyfriend. Or perhaps husband. Depends on how things work out when the time eventually comes.

So the fighter turned his attention to Dave. Sure, the former grunt would look amazing decked out in such a dress. The question of why invaded his head in that moment. An explanation for this that explained this request. Sure, he had a tendency to wear his leotard under his clothes. But he had no clue what Dave wore in his off time. Sure, this might be normal for him. Or this might be a spur of the moment idea that the fighter hadn't seen the full picture yet.

So Blaze took a deep breath. Dave let out a chuckle, gaze back on Blaze.

"I pushed a bit too far, didn't I?" the former grunt remarked, a faint 'yes' exiting the fighter's mouth. He took a deep breath, their friend's gazes split between the two men. "Probably should tell you the story then."

Upon hearing that, Bubbles sat himself down. Right in the middle of the walkway. Thankfully, Phusitmon pushed him back into what I can only assume to be an alleyway. Blaze and Balamon sat right beside them, letting their full attention be right on Dave.

"This all started when I was in kindergarten."

* * *

Notes:

Sea Mages used to be 'wizards' in earlier editions of Dungeons and Dragons. Like Mister Lore Mage says, they're now a sorcerer subclass.

.

Next Time: A flashback. This is going to be good.


	20. The Boy and the Maid Dress

I don't own digimon.

* * *

A boy sits patiently. Dressed in a pair of shorts with a strange t-shirt with something on it that I can't quite recognise, looks quite comfortable. Looks like a dog. A blue one. Last time I checked, dogs aren't supposed to be blue. Why someone would go out of their way to color a dog that way in the first place. Waste of paint. Unless this is how dogs usually appear in this world. Raises even more questions that I doubt will get answered right in this particular moment.

Surrounded by their peers, a woman (teacher, perhaps?) is reading from a book. The contents elude me, but they look like a mix of pictures and words. More slanted to the former than the latter though. Guess those are a thing. Not sure what the market is for them. Probably the young and those who see words as nothing more than scribbles on a page. Not that every book should be like that. Would make my job kind of awful for starters, on top of giving little in the way of variety for people.

The room itself is quite pretty. Weird bluish blackish grey rugs line the floor, while the walls have been given a nice treatment of white. If I didn't know any better I would assume that this place came from a world like mine. But then the strange black rectangles littering the floor mixed in with dolls and plushies has me rethinking that idea. Oh wait. Is this one of those 'modern' worlds? Has to be. Don't see these very often. Almost always the fantasy or the sci-fi people want. They have a certain charm. I guess. Does mean I have less of a grasp on things on display. So I might call something by its wrong name. Sorry about that.

"Class, we're going to hold a play of the various jobs you can have later on in life." the teacher explains, bringing out a hat. Pieces of paper can just be made out within. One by one, the children make their way up. Personally, I would've just thrown the slips of paper out and let them have at it. Simple as that. Okay, maybe I wouldn't go that far. You get the point. I think.

"Yes!" one kid announced, waving about his slip of paper like it's some massive deal. It kind of is? But not really. There's far better things to get excited at this age. Like sweets and I guess toys. Stuff like that.

If I had to take an educated guess, this 'play' is much like that of a theater show. Just on a smaller scale with less of a budget. But what sort of story could they be telling here? A story about jobs? I've sat through worse (puppet shows included). Though, that might be enough to keep the little ones entertained. Maybe.

As for the boy, he seems to be making his way up the woman. Digging into the hat, he pulls a slip out.

Maid

The boy stares to it, letting the word roll about his head. Sure, both mommy and daddy cleaned for a living. But their expectations were for their children not to end up like them. To rise beyond what they had accomplished in life. While such a small gesture, could he really tell his parents about this? Maybe. He was at the start of his school days. Sure, he had seen the getup his mother would wear in all it's frilly and feminine glory. But only once. Even then, it was a complete accident. One that he didn't wish to repeat. The harsh scolding right after helps solidify that in his head for the foreseeable future. Even if the boy doesn't quite see the need.

Of course, the boy holds it up just a little too high for a moment long. Maybe he wants to make sure that it says what he thinks it does? It does. No doubt about it.

"Hey Suzie, doesn't your mom employ his mom?" a kid announces, 'Suzie' looking in their direction. They just shrug, a knife on a well-made belt bobbing about. Wait. She's a kid. What kind of situation would necessitate such weapons? These are children for fuck sake! The idea that they could die at any moment should be the least of their worries.

"I guess?" she answers, eyes right on the boy. The damage has already started. Even when the play did come around, the boy isn't really able to perform. Some problem with his stomach. Well, that's what the notes for this flashback claim. My diagnosis? Stage fright. Very horrible, no good, awful stage fright. They even held a mock execution for the kid for the job of executor.

Things didn't get any easier after that. 'Boy Maid' (yes, that's what they started calling him for some reason found himself slumping his way through his first six years of school under a gray sky that never seemed to let up. Okay, that can't be right. Sure, he has shown some aptitude for stuff like cooking and welfare of others. Not skills that would help in a world where people are more concerned about the environment and protecting yourself against attacks by your fellow peers. Of course, something else sprouted within the boy. While other boys talked about their escapades with the girls, he would be off admiring some random boy around his age. He wasn't sure why he found another male so attractive. Better yet, girls became less of an interest for him. An even bigger target now painted on his back, the boy tried his best to power through these particular school years. While 'successful' (if you count not getting expelled from middle school), it all had to come swinging down at some point. Sure, he had a job

On that particular day, the rain coming down took on an almost crimson appearance outside. No one seemed to be playing, just watching for their chance at a little slice of murder. The boy had to trudge his way through this awful storm with little sign of the weather letting up. Inside, his mind was going a mile a minute. How would his parents react to the news? Would they accept him, or would they just cast him out like some kind of awful monster?

Even as his home came into view, butterflies took root in the boy's stomach. The stage fright from all the way back in kindergarten came rushing back. There's no stomach pains this time around, the boy twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open.

Inside, the whole home looks clean. Too clean. I get that some people have a disdain for dust. This just seems like taking it a bit too far. One's reflection was on full display here if you stood still and looked down on the strange white floor. Probably slippery to an extent. No way to really test that on my end, since the boy is making an effort to stay off that particular part of the floor. Which leads us nicely into the kitchen. There, the boy's parents wait at a table under a dim light. If one didn't know any better, you would think they were the boy. With her locks of blonde and black eyes (the color, not the facial distortion), just an inch of height separated her from him. The father on the other hand was on the short side. Perfect for blending into the crowd when things inevitably go south in some regard, but not good for anything else. Outside of using janitorial tools like a broom and strange cylinder things. You know, the ones that squirt liquid

A meal looks to have been prepared, but there isn't much for the boy himself. Though, his plate might be waiting off in the kitchen.

"Son, is there something that you need to tell us?" the boy's father remarks, his child taking a deep breath. This is it. The moment he had been dreading. No going back on this. So the boy opened his mouth.

The words that roll out bring only silence for the two adults. They understand what their son has just said, but it took a moment for it all too really register on them. Blaming the other would do absolutely little good. Especially with the way things have been going. Between the rumors of a supposed 'invasion' in the coming years and the mortality rate going up one couldn't be so certain in this sort of place. Among many other factors that I could never know.

As the rain began to show signs of stopping, the mother got ready for work. Decked out in her maid outfit, she took the time to call for her son. Still dressed in his school uniform, he made his way down the hall. Each step given pause. A possible out from a potentially bad situation he could be walking into. Yet, the boy continues to inch his way closer to his destination. The butterflies are back out in full force, each one threatening to burst out and fly away. Or at least, flutter about the enclosed space.

The doorway was coming into view, the final obstacle of this mental obstacle course the boy had constructed for himself. Hand on the doorknob, he pulls it down. Pushing the door open, his mother waits patiently. Decked out in a maid costume, it's kind of a risque outfit. The main part is a black dress with a skirt that's just covering her privates, with a lace apron that hangs just a tiny bit under that. Netting covers the entire length of her legs, leading right on down to a set of black heels. The titular 'heel' itself a very sharp spike. Perfect for the one or two times in the year that you get jumped and need to use your feet to protect yourself. Or perhaps use the shoe itself as a weapon. Short white gloves ending in a ribbon bow hang to her hands, while the standard frilly headband hung in her blonde locks perfectly. Well, as close to such a lofty standard that a maid could ever get in a world such as this one.

"Mom?" the boy whispers and got a slight pat on the head as he approached. Feeling quite good, he takes a seat on the bed. His mother does something similar, coming right beside the boy.

"No matter what happens, I want you to remember that your dad and I love you." his mother explains, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "We'll support you no matter what."

Tears began to roll down the boy's face. He appreciates the gesture, but words do little against knives. Unless you're a wizard or one of the multitudes of professions that get magic for some reason these days. No offense to them, of course.

"When I get back home, we'll have a nice fancy dinner and then we'll talk." the mother continues and gets up from her bed. Heels click clacking against the floor, it's the last time he'll ever see her.

A tragic accident they tell the boy and his father. Something involving dancing. All that remains of the mother was her work outfit. No funeral, no body to bury. No condolences. Life just goes on… for lack of a better word and/or phrase in this moment. Oh yeah. No rest for the wicked. Never really got that one. As if to imply that those with 'drive' had to continue less fear that their time would come to an end. Probably doesn't mean that.

"So the boy does the unthinkable. He took his mother's garment and just assumed her place." Dave explained, letting out a deep breath. You earned it. Again. Maybe you have a talent for narration that's going unused.

"That boy was you, wasn't it?" Blaze remarked, getting a nod from his boyfriend. While there were definitely parts that Dave had left out, he got the feeling that it was best to let sleeping dogs lie for the moment. When the former grunt was ready to tell him, he was ready to listen.

"You going to be alright?" Balamon inquired, Dave's gaze focusing on Blaze in that moment. Mumbling something under his breath, the fighter managed to catch it. A nod is his only response. All that's really needed.

After, Bubbles went in for a hug. Dave accepted the gesture. Though he did have to kneel down in order to be on the dragon's level. Even them there's quite a huge height difference between the two. On top of a more than obvious age difference. Can't forget about that.

"Thank you." the former grunt whispered, breaking away from the embrace. After, he gave Phusitmon a quick glance. The plush rabbit digimon gave his best thumbs-up. Quite impressive, when you consider he doesn't really have real poseability in his hands. Then he's back on Blaze. "Now, we can get that maid dress?"

The fighter took a deep breath, a chuckle following it. While this was a gamble on his part, Blaze got the feeling this would work out.

"Two conditions." he explained, stopping right in front of the entrance to the clothing shop. "Your wardrobe is going to be more than this one maid dress. Secondly, only in the house. At least for now."

Dave nodded. While the former would've preferred to have been able to walk about Aldia in such a garment, he understood where Blaze was coming from at the moment.

"Understood." he answered, the group finally heading through the doorway and into the shop itself. Inside, a variety of clothing for both males and females of all kinds of races awaited. The floor looked to be some kind of hardwood, birch maybe. Whereas the walls had been colored a darker color. Makes the lanterns hanging from the ceiling all the more ambient. A succubus mans the side counter, gaze on Blaze for the moment.

"What can I do for my favorite dancer today?" the shopkeeper chimed, the fighter's cheek going in a fiery shade of red at the moment. Especially when she noticed Dave at the moment.

"My boyfriend wants to try the maid dress in the window." Blaze explained, ignoring Dave perking up for the moment. "On top of a bunch of regular set of outfits for day-to-day stuff."

The succubus nodded, Blaze casually setting down his gold pouch. It had been some time since he had bought clothes. Sure, he would occasionally dance here, but there were other times he needed to get clothing repaired.

"Any garments in particular?" the shopkeeper continued, both men looking at their options. Eventually, both Dave and Blaze come upon plain shirts and pants. Basic, yes. Does the job, absolutely. "Now, let me get your friend's measurements."

Floating her way around the counter, we can finally get a good look at our shopkeeper here. Dressed in rags much like her fellow succubi and orcs, hers have at least some patterning to them. Guess that makes them fashionable. Somehow?

Nonetheless, the shopkeeper gets to work. First, she wraps her tape around the chest of Dave, then the waist. Finally, the head.

"You look to be around Blaze's size." the shopkeeper explained, getting a nod from both men as she pointed towards a couple shelves. "While you're doing that, I'll go grab the maid costume."

The actual selection process of the shirts and pants was pretty easy for the pair. All the shirts were plain, solid colors and the pants were a mix of brown, black and gray. Typical stuff.

"Does this work for you?" Blaze inquired, Dave giving a nod. His gaze had already shifted away from the regular and over to the shopkeeper at the moment. Did get him a chuckle from Blaze in return.

"Here you go." the shopkeeper explained, handing the former grunt the dress and what looks to be a matching set of mary janes. He makes a beeline for a dressing room, Blaze following right behind. Which just leaves Bubbles and both digimon to wait patiently. So our little dragon took a seat.

"Master, are you ready to see me?" Dave called out, Blaze trying his best to hold together. Out of any way that his boyfriend could have greeted him, he had chosen this as his response. Yet, it somehow fitted this moment.

"Yes, I'm ready." Blaze answered and watched the door open up. Out came Dave, all decked out. A curtsy followed. "Dang. It fits you perfectly."

Dave nodded, only for the door to the shop itself to swing open. And in comes the Artisan. Because of course he does.

* * *

Notes:

This was actually quite a fun chapter to write. Mostly because we haven't had a flashback in quite some time. Though, the hardest part was getting the world to look the way that I wanted too. Not quite our world per say, but something close to it.

.

Next Time: Huh... I don't remember it like that.


	21. Scattered Recollections

I don't own digimon.

* * *

It hadn't been the Artisan's intention to run into Blaze and Bubbles now of all times. For once, he was not on Distant Harmony business in regards to destroying this world. Which, he was successful in regards of decimating the alleyways, that makes up a small part of Aldia. Considering how rash and destructive you've been the last couple days, I doubt you have a plan for the rest of the town. Or is the plan so secretive you can't tell me outright? Either one works in this situation.

The Artisan shook his fist towards the ceiling, thoughts of inflicting harm to the disembodied voice already forming within. Why didn't this guy understand that he already had enough on his plate without adding his stupid opinion of it all to it? Maybe he did but still needed to do the job and was just tired of all the confusing and contradictory decisions being made at the moment. Didn't think of that, did you? Not many really do.

"Why thank you, Captain Obvious." the Artisan announced, focus already shifting from the ceiling to the shopkeeper for the moment. Carinamon kept glaring for a couple seconds before joining his partner in his staring. Not sure what's that about.

Though judging by the glare in return they were both getting at the moment, their appearance was not welcomed one bit - money or not. I can only wonder why.

"I would suggest not trying to destroy this place." the shopkeeper threatened, flashing a knife towards her possible customer\\. Looks like you couldn't cut paper with that thing. Let alone fend off someone like the Artisan. Hopefully this isn't your only option. Though, I don't quite know the extent of this particular variant.

"So you plan to grind me to death with that thing?" the Artisan remarked, watching the succubus set the bladed tool down and shift her focus back to him and his scorpion. "I would like your finest suit."

The shopkeeper looked to Blaze and Dave, motioning them to come over. Oh boy. Pretty much says it all. Of course, the pair just stood there for the moment. A lose-lose situation they had found themselves in. Well, I guess I wouldn't go that far. You started with a win-win and got that. Now you're in a possible win-lose situation that could change on you at any moment, a far cry from a lose-lose situation.

"You want me to handle this?" Dave inquired and got a head shake from Blaze. While sure, Dave probably knew the Artisan better. But considering the inevitable brawl that's probably going to happen, this is probably for the best. "I'll be right behind you no matter what, master."

Blaze's face went bright red. Of course Dave went there. Looked even cuter when he said stuff like that. Made it all the more harder when that troupe came back around. Unless he… No, the fighter would need to give it some more thought at the moment. To commit in this moment was not the best thing to do. No, he would need to give it some more thought. Heck, even bring up the possibility of Dave holding down the fort. No, that would be too long of a period. What about his teammates?

Though, might want to keep that for more private time. Don't want to people to go around thinking you're in one of those sorts of relationships. Especially considering what happened to the last group of maids. Though, Bubbles and Phusitmon are the only ones who know about that.

"Looking sharp, Dave." the Artisan cooed, getting a look from Blaze. A deep breath followed. The temptation to follow it up with something rude was most definitely there, but he held his tongue. Instead, what came out was more of a groan in what I think is our fighter's fashion sense. To be fair, I probably wouldn't trust Blaze to pick a suit out for me. No offense, but your dancing is the main highlight. Not the clothes you wear.

"Any suit in particular you would like?" Blaze started, hand shaking about the handle of his blade. While he had a general idea of what he had wanted to accomplish today, helping someone with a suit was not on that list. Let alone that someone being the Artisan of all people. But when life gives you rocks, you make a fire with them.

"No you idiot, you take those stupid lemons life seems to have an endless supply of and make fucking lemonade!" the Artisan screeched, fist shaking at the ceiling. Really dude? I'm not even from the same world as you. Don't just assume that every phrase needs to match up with the ones you're speaking at the mom-

The Artisan's eyes glaze over. He's no longer in this random little clothing store in Aldia with everyone. He's back in his shop, staring down a strange woman.

Body decked out in color and skin showing all about, even the hair spiked out fit perfectly on her. Not that he would ever say such things. Especially since she had already taken the time to say those things for her. Had all come about when she dropped all her junk off for him to sell. Though in truth, he usually gave that stuff back to the creatures in the cover of darkness when the agreed upon day came around.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, watching her turn around and walk out the door, slamming it on the way out. Part of him was kicking himself for being so immature and juvenile to this gal. This might've been his one and only chance and he had blown spectacularly. Of course he had. That's what always happened to him. Everything he did was doomed to fail.

But why did glimpses of that woman fade back in? Dressed in a white, flowing dress, she's heading toward him. He's happy. Undeniably so. They're standing in a chapel of all places with their colleagues and families all in attendance. This was supposed to be the happiest moment of his life. Or one of the happiest.

But why does it feel so wrong? Like a memory that you remember but didn't really happen. So the Artisan tried to concentrate. Nothing specific, just anything that could clear the fog that had engulfed his head. Try as he might, the fog held on with all it's might. Worst, the details kept changing on him. Why couldn't he remember the name of this woman? No, now they were a man. No woman. Man. Woman. Something in between. A slime. Now his memories were just taunting him. He hated when that happened.

"Has this happened before?" he told himself, trying to remember. But outside of this strange mental note, nothing came from it. Especially has his little prison began to shift about and give way on itself

"Artisan?"

Returning to reality, his gaze returned to Blaze. To some extent, he debated apologizing, but that felt out of character. Especially after the events that went down yesterday and that vial getting reflected back at him. That was definitely not your finest moment. Which I guess isn't saying much in your regards.

"Did something happen?" the fighter remarked, getting face down with a glare from his possible opponent. "Sorry. I'll let it dr-"

The Artisan shook his head. A sigh followed. There was no getting around it in this current moment. Especially after his little daydream hallucination thing. Okay. Maybe a little white lie would work here. Those were simple enough. Keep the prying away and maybe offer an opportunity. Even if he wouldn't mind a rematch with Bubbles at the moment. He doubted such a chance would come in his current moment. So taking the second pick in this moment wouldn't be that bad.

"Just thinking." he muttered, scanning the area for the suits. While definitely not something that a clothing store would keep out in the open, this place was bound to have some. Right? "You know where the suits are, right?"

Blaze nodded, leading his foe towards the back of the store. Bubbles and co. followed right behind. Just in case things did go south and Blaze needed some support.

The suit made up the smallest section of clothes in this shop dedicated to garments, with just a small handful of said suits propped up in the corner. Considering the large population of succubi in Aldia, that makes a lot of sense. But that's a generalization. Quite likely that I'm assuming this to be the case more than anything else.

"Are you sure this is all you have?" the Artisan remarked, Blaze's gaze shooting over to the shopkeeper. A shrug, then back on over to his 'customer'. Which got him a sigh. "For being a clothing store, was expecting something a bit more… fancy."

Blaze took a deep breath. He was well in the deep end at the moment. So he turned his attention to his boyfriend. Whispering under his breath, the maid managed to pick up the general idea of what he was saying. I think at least, since it was too low for me to hear in the first place. Don't you hate it when that happens? Okay, maybe that's me.

"How do you already know that you won't like it?" the fighter countered and got a look from the Artisan. Letting out a groan, everything freezing up for the moment. He was back in his shop, Carinamon on his shoulder. When had he come into his life and turn it on his head? It had to be at least a couple years. Maybe even longer, with the way that years would sometimes would blend together. Or at least, that's what he thought.

"Dude, what do you have to offer?"

Scrambling back over to his counter, his gaze came upon the people at the door. Some ragtag group of adventurers, two men and two women. Decked in a mix of leather and metal, just starting out in this crazy world. Just passing through to reach the large tower outside of town. The name of which eluded the Artisan's head at the moment. He swore he had known it at one time, but it just seemed to evade him for some reason. Why?

"You." one of the men remarked, blowing a kiss. For reasons that eluded him, he blew a kiss back. "Sorry it's been so long, Rantha."

Under his mask, Rantha's cheeks glowed pink. Outside of Melody back at base, it had been quite a while since he had been called that. Looking down at himself, he was no longer dressed in his coat and I can only assume mask, but instead in an outfit more similar to Blaze's. By that, I mean he was dressed in a shirt and trousers. Just his getup included an apron. Covered in a mix of cheese and potions, it shouted 'him'. Not a bad thing, mind you. Just the picture I'm getting at the moment.

"It's alright." he remarked, turning around to grab what looked to be some health potions. Freshly brewed to boot. Nor does there seem to be any potion slimes within. That would absolutely suck if there somehow were. "Freshly brewed, on the house."

The man nodded, making his way over to the counter. A brunette, his orange eyes no worse for the wear. Greatsword on his back, it jingled about with each step. Looked well-used.

"You better come back." Rantha continued, a chuckle from his boyfriend in return. "If I find out that you haven't…"

A vial of green liquid is set down on the table. While held within the glass, it seemed ready to break out and eat one of them. Spoke too soon on the

"Got it, cuddlebuns." the man remarked, getting a side hug from the Artisan. The gesture felt quite nice, even if it did bring both of them dangerously close to the vial. "Probably should put that away. Before it breaks."

Rantha nodded, vial of poison going away. A wave from both him and his partner followed right after. The party then exited, bringing us back to reality.

Rantha was still standing there, though Dave was currently doing something with his arm. From this angle, it appears he has two fingers on Rantha's arm. Blaze is watching intently, possibly in the hopes of picking it up on the off-chance something happens and things go south. Which is a pretty good idea. I think at least

"His pulse is good, so I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with him." the maid remarked and turned to his boyfriend. "Though, I would still be on your guard."

Blaze took a deep breath, shifting his gaze over to the shopkeeper. She's already flipped the sign to closed and was now moving the more valuable garments somewhere safe.

He appreciated Dave's analysis, that didn't change the possibility of things going ugly and having to bring out his sword. So the fighter let his attention return to the Artisan. Currently, his possible opponent remained glazed over. Though, Bubbles was tugging at the bottom of his cloak.

"Heal?" the little dragon cooed, getting a look from both Blaze and Phusitmon at the moment. Though, it would be his partner that gave him a tap.

"I don't think so." Phusitmon remarked, turning his attention to the fighter for the moment. "Anything that we can do for you?"

Blaze let out a sigh. Leadership was not one of his qualities (Yvonne was the one you look for in that regard), but in the middle of this fire hazard of a building, he could act as one. Maybe.

"Do you think you can help the shopkeeper out with moving the clothes. As much as I would like to not set something on fire, no guarantees."

Phusitmon nodded, Bubbles making a beeline for the shopkeeper. She looked to be appreciating the help. Even if the urge to hug the dragon was absolutely immeasurable right now.

That just left Blaze and Dave for the moment. Oh. Rantha too. But I'm not entirely sure what the fuck is going on with him at the moment. From the looks of things, he's still in his shop. The group of adventurers are long gone now and it's just the two of them - alone.

"Rantha…" Carinamon remarked, tapping the Artisan. Maybe he would listen to him right now. He had too. Right? "We can't stay here."

But his partner wasn't listening. No, he was more focused on the door leading out. Was he expecting someone to come on through? Surely there can't be anyone else who could grace us with their presence right now. Could there?

"Hello, Rantha." a voice called out, the world beginning to distort and tear. As if someone had pulled this place away and the inhabitants were unable to put it back together. "I would like to free you from your shackles."

The rest of the conversation is complete garbage, garbled and unintelligible. Crap. Just lost my connection.

Ejected back to reality, Blaze had one final preparation to make. A simple one, but required if things did go wrong. Which was quite likely to happen in this sort of place.

"Master?" Dave inquired and watched Blaze turn around. "Is there anything that you want me to do for you?"

The fighter looked away, mumbling something under his breath. This I highly doubt got through to the maid. If it did, I call bull.

"Uh… you want me to stay behind you?" Dave continued, getting a chuckle in return. After, the Artisan began to shift his body about. Did bring Blaze's gaze back on over.

"No." Blaze answered and took a deep breath. As requests went, this was kind of embarrassing. The sort of thing he wouldn't ask any other time. But in this moment, might be the moment that he needed it most. "Could you act as encouragement?"

Dave gave him a look. Then a nod.

"So a cheerleader then?" the maid remarked, getting a look. What's a cheerleader. Better yet, what's a cheer? Oh. I guess I'm not getting that answered, since the glazed expression of our foe has disappeared.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" Blaze inquired, trying his best to give Rantha some space. Though, the vial that was now in the artisan's hand was cause for concern. Even more so when said vial 'slipped' out from his hands.

"Why yes, actually." the Artisan remarked, a green blob erupting forth from their glass prison. Doesn't look too happy. "Give me a show, dancer. I wish to see if those feet of yours are truly as amazing as your hospitality.

Blaze shot his opponent a confused glance, Balamon slithering to the floor. Probably should've waited. But that's just me. The random narrator guy who's not well liked by the bad guy's. In other news, water is wet and fire is hot.

"If this is going to be a tag-team, let me join." Carinamon added, getting a look from his master. A nod, then the clicking of claws. "This is going to be fun."

Scimitar coming out, Blaze did a quick survey of the area. While the temptation to use his infusion was tempting, it was best to wait. Don't want to destroy the stock. Especially when your money is still on the counter, uncounted. Perfectly understandable.

Nonetheless, Rantha's blob thing made the first move. Took the form of the charging of something. Then a charge forward.

**Bite!**

Balamon lunged forward, sinking his fangs in. No dice. So Blaze carefully grabbed hold of his partner and pulled back. Enough for Balamon to be set free and deliver a tail slap. Which sounded kind of satisfying.

"Thank you." Balamon whispered, feeling the fighter let go of him. After, he decided to shake about as his partner began his routine. Which as it turned out, was a bit of stretching. Always good to do. Never want to tear something in the middle of a battle. Then it's dancing time.

* * *

Notes:

This was really fun to write, not going to lie. Especially as we now have a better picture of Rantha. Which is always a plus.

.

Next Time: Let's make a deal. No, really.


	22. Would you like to trade?

I don't own digimon.

* * *

When Blaze danced, he preferred to do it in his leotard. That way, he wouldn't risk getting his clothes soaked in sweat. This was not how he preferred to do this. Especially when it involved someone like the Artisan. But that wouldn't stop the fighter from putting on a good show for his limited audience.

"I have to admit, you're quite impressive." Rantha remarked, watching patiently as Blaze's scimitar slammed into Carinamon. "Though, I'm not sure why you're referred to as 'the fighter'."

That's his base class. As far as I can tell, there's no real 'dancer' class. Sure, there may have been one in times long before, but not now. Though, you might be looking more towards bards than a fighter. But I don't really see an aptitude for music. Outside of rhythm of course. Haven't forgotten about that.

"What are you even talking about?" Blaze remarked, confused by the question he had just been asked. He had never been referred to such a thing as a 'fighter'. Dancer, yes. But he never saw that as an actual title. More of a job that he made money on. More than enough to pay for his house and keep himself fed. Anything else he usually let people keep. No use being greedy when it comes to this. "Better yet, who the heck are you talking too?"

Rantha looked away, muttering something to the floor at the moment. How does one go about explaining the strange voice in your head is an actual person and not some strange delusion he had been suffering from for the last couple days. Heck, even if you could explain it, how would the other person react? Would they think you were already more crazy than you already seem? Freak out on you? Understand? Or do you just continue

"The magical voice in my head that just won't show it's stupid mouth." Rantha announced, the potion slime going in for a swing - this time aiming for the dancer. Dodging out of the way, Blaze went for a swing. While the scimitar did connect with the target, I doubt any damage was actually done here. Possibly healed the thing knowing our luck.

**Rattle!**

Balamon shook his tail, bringing Carinamon's attention over. The scorpion digimon took a swing, smashing his tail into the floor. That's going to leave a mark.

Bite!

With his opponent now stuck, Balamon slammed his mouth down. That can't be that tasty. Even if it was, you need to deal with the stinger. Probably just cut it off and use it for something. Maybe as a poison for your blade? Yeah, I can see that. Though, that tail swing didn't quite have the desired effect. Could just be the snake digimon forgetting that Carinamon had claws. Yeah. That's what I'm going with for the moment.

"You stupid snake." Carinamon announced, snarling towards his opponent. "If that master of yours wasn't such a bonehead, none of this would have happened."

Balamon shot him a look. While sure, Blaze may have said something that had triggered the Artisan in the first place. But without knowing what the dancer had said and what had been brought back up in the first place, they wouldn't get anywhere.

"Okay…" Blaze countered, twirling around to face the Artisan. "So what was it that I said?"

His opponent looked away, whispering something to the floor. Real helpful. If a guess needed to be made, probably something he said at the start of the spiel.

Yet, he came to a stop and put a hand on Rantha's shoulder. Letting out a deep breath, their gazes met.

"Is there anything that I can do for you?" he chimed, trying his best to be kind. "Any particular dance I c-"

Yet, Rantha took this opportunity as his one and only chance to slam Blaze into the ground. After, he smashed his foot into his chest. Just for good measure. Fuck. Had to go there. That guy was just trying to help and what do you do? Take his kindness and throw it back.

Especially now that Bubbles and Phusitmon were on their way over to Blaze for the moment. Though Balamon was now on his partner for the moment. Which to be fair, he was kind of useless without being infused. No offense to him, of course. Doesn't looked crushed.

"Artisan!" Dave screeched, gaze fixed on Rantha. This wasn't his battle, but this sure as hell wasn't right. So he turned his attention to Bubbles for the moment. "Any way that I can help you?"

Being the little dragon that he was, Bubbles had nothing. So Dave watched him do his work, bracing for any possible retaliation to come.

"Oh. So I should just walk over you as well?" the Artisan barked, jagged smile on his face. "Because that's what people like to do. Sure they claim that they care, but they never do."  
Dude, calm down. I get that you weren't expecting to be having those strange memory flashback dream things, but this is just overkill. No harm was meant. You just need to tell them that you're hurt. They're willing to listen. Heck, I'm willing to listen. Give us a signal and we'll be good. Not this.

"You don't think I somehow forgotten that?!" the Artisan screeched, another vial already in hand. Carinamon's gaze shot on over, the scorpion digimon's body trembling. Any cockiness had exited his body in an instant, fear replacing it. So he scuttled on over, getting ready to bring forth a whirlwind just in case. Might want to do that like, now. Rather than later.

"Rantha, I need you to calm down." Carinamon barked, getting a look from his boss. Boot meets scorpion, the result is crystal clear. "Rantha, you've gone too far…"

His partner didn't care at the moment. No, he was insistent on driving the point home. If took another dozen stomps, then that's what it took.

"Just shut the fuck up!" Rantha screeched, pulling his foot up in preparation for the coming stomp. So you can imagine his surprise when Blaze got up and Bubbles running over. "Oh. So you still have some fight left in you."

Giving Dave a look, Blaze took a deep breath. His whole body felt as if was on fire. Medical attention was going to be needed after this. Adrenaline pumped through his body. By no means on Yvonne's level, he was just as driven right now.

"Infuse!" he announced, red outline appearing around him. "Ember!"

Scimitar heating up, the dancer turned his attention to the potion slime. A deep breath left his lips as he . Sure, this little thing probably was oblivious to what was even going on.

"Hey. I'm sorry about this." Blaze whispered, focusing as best he can on his strange thing. "Is there anything that I do to help?"

The potion slime shook its head. Well, it's whole body. This answer is definitely not what the Artisan is expecting. Far from it in fact. Especially as his other companion is currently trying to struggle out of the arms of Bubbles currently.

"Stupid waste of goop." he muttered, second potion vial at the ready. Looks like some kind of crystal. Which could mean anything. "Let me guess, you want to spare it for some unimaginable reason?"

Blaze nodded, scimitar pointing in the direction of the Artisan. Ignoring the possibility of the whole place burning down (accident or not), that was his goal. Would like absolutely for dancer to be killing people. Especially without any good reason to do so in the first place. Something something compassion. Yeah, that.

"He's just here to cause trouble for me and get in the way of dancing, somehow." Blaze continued, taking a step forward. Part of him was shouting not to get any closer. Which is great and all if he was carrying something like I don't… a bow and arrow and not, a blade of all things. You know, the epitome of close-quarters. "Why do you want to see me dance?"

He got no answer to that question, because the vial dropped down. You couldn't have squeaked out a monologue of some kind before dropping it? I get that you're pissed, but we're all left at a lo-

"What part of shut the fuck up don't you get?" Rantha screamed, ice glazing over the entire shop. Like seriously, this isn't some thin layer of slippery stuff. You could seriously carve a nice sculpture if you were persistent enough. On top of having the right tool. I guess it's ha- "Dude, what part of this don't you understand?"

All of it. Just makes for an awful story if it's just dialogue. Without real context of what's going down, this sort of story wouldn't work.

"Rantha, you need to calm down." Carinamon mumbled, Bubble's hug getting that much more tighter in that moment. So he turned his attention to the dragon. "Can you please let go of me? He's clearly in pain."

Bubbles's gaze shifted over to the scorpion digimon. While possibly true, that would just make Blaze's job even harder. So he made his way over to Dave. Easier said than done with the icy floor under his feet and the less-than cooperative scorpion at the moment. The first step forward was possibly the worst. His little feet were trapped under the ice. So he tapped the ice with his healing touch thing. No dice. What exactly made him think that would work? I can only assume that his body heat might be enough, but that's unlikely.

"Let me help you out there." Blaze remarked, stepping slowly across the floor. So much for facing Rantha head-on at the moment. Tapping the blade against the ice, fire won this battle. The little water puddle was an added plus to boot. "Better?"

Bubbles nodded, a small twinge of pain echoing through his body. So he used his healing touch to reach that particular spot. Then he's back on Dave. Sure, Droplet would do the job. But was their a different option at the moment.

**Bubbles initiated an Infusion Trade with Carinamon**

**Do you Accept?**

_No/Yes_

Okay… Was not expecting to have a touchable illusion to appear from his D-Venture when he thought about. Wait. That means they're not bound to their initial element? Oh. I can already see the stuff that can come out of this. Sure, this is probably a fluke brought about by the little dragon, that doesn't change how it cool it is.

"Darn it." Carinamon muttered, struggling to reach for the 'No' option. "You idiot!"

But Bubbles wasn't listening. Whether by accident or sheer disobedience, he pushed Carinamon's stinger over to the 'Yes'.

**Trade Initiated - Terms: Temporary.**

Bubbles looked over to Dave, purple outline forming on his body. Phusitmon was not real amused, but a slight pet seemed to calm him down. Slightly. Enough for Bubbles not get a scolding from

"Fuse!" he announced, feeling different at the moment. Not bad different per say, but different in turn of effects. "Toxin!"

Three gazes shot over to Bubbles in that moment. As far as they could tell, he had just done something impossible. Debating the meaning of such a word is absolutely pointless at the moment, mostly because we don't know the extent of this at the moment. Throwing a small kick, Bubbles slid forward. Engulfed in this purple goop, he was one-dragon ball of destruction. Against ice at least. Which is perfect for this situation. Anything else, we'll have to wait and see in that regard.

"Daav!" he shouted, the maid grabbing hold of both him and Carinamon. A deep breath followed, gaze on Blaze.

"Thanks." Blaze chimed and focused on the one behind this madness. Can't have nice things. Always something to break when you're around. You ever notice that? "Now, let's dance."

His first move was a jump into a split, melting a now-ruined stack of shirts. Those were replaceable. There was probably a stack of them in the back not covered in frost at the moment.

What couldn't be so easily replaced was the things already done. The memories - both good and bad. They're a part of yourself. Like it or not, you're going to have life with the less than great parts of you.

A twirl followed as Rantha pulled out a retractable stick. But something isn't right at the moment.

Everything was becoming a blur, the world twisting and distorting right in front of him. He was certain he had taken the time to have a bite to eat and something to drink. Well, that was what the Artisan had thought at least. In between his sessions of playing with Melody, had our villain forgotten the necessity of… hydration? Had to be. Why else would this be happening?

"Fine then." Rantha muttered, teleporting away. Without Carinamon of all people. Though this is the perfect chance to grill him for all his secrets. Then maybe do something absolutely humiliating with his body. Possibilities are endless in that regard.

Yet, Blaze made his way over to the shopkeeper. Currently standing by her table, she was in the middle of counting the gold.

"Sorry about this." the dancer whispered, getting a chuckle from the seller. Not sure if a sense of humor is good at the moment. Especially considering that the entire shop is covered in an absurd layer of ice. "You can take it all you want."

The shopkeeper gave the bag a slight shake, a couple of coins jingling out. Huh. Not what I was expecting here.

"It wasn't your intention, Blaze." she explained, her gaze turning to Dave at the moment. "You did tell him, right?"

A deep breath, which came more of a sigh towards the end of it. No use running away from it to an extent. Especially with each day bringing their return ever so closer. Time's definitely not on your side here. But with the way things are going, is that truly what you want?

"I keep pushing it to the backburner." Blaze answered, gaze joining the shopkeeper's for the moment. "Some day, I'm going to have to make a choice, but he's entered my world and thrown it on my head."

He got a chuckle. Not that this was stopping him from collecting his

"I like it better that way."

After saying that, Blaze felt his heart beat just a little faster. Aww… Now, to just go on some dates and really get to know each other.

Bubbles walked up right after, Phusitmon and Carinamon on him currently. Thankfully, Blaze noticed the dragon and put him on the counter. Then he was off to rescue his boyfriend from his icy space.

"Hi!" Bubbles greeted, getting a head pat at the moment. After, the shopkeeper brought out a little box. Somehow not surrounded in a block of ice. I'll let it slide.

"You were such a big help with that mean man." the shopkeeper cooed, opening the box up. "Normally, I reserve these for little kids who don't make a fuss when their mommies and daddies bring them in."

Bubbles stared into the box. There, he was treated to an assortment of little doll clothes. All of which the right size for Phusitmon and hopefully Carinamon.

"You're playing with fire, bucko." Carinamon muttered, his warning getting ignored as Bubbles dug into the assortment of doll clothes. Out came a little dress perfect for a lady-in-waiting and one for a servant. Though, I'm surprised he went for that after the encounter with the maids. "Oh for fuck sake."

What followed, was what you expected. A scorpion trying to put up a fight, but was in fact quite tired from all the stuff. Which made the dress-up quite easy.

"I guess I can make this work." Phusitmon remarked, smoothing out his garb. As for Carinamon, he had reluctantly accepted his fate. Especially as the sound of pounding pierced through from the outside. Eventually, what looked to be a warhammer pierced through the door.

"Hey." Yvonne announced and pulled the door open. Dressed in what looked to be Marulyn's robes, she looked like a complete mess. Sweat and grime peeked through from the few places that were exposed on her body. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Blaze took a deep breath.

"Sure." he answered, heading out. His companions followed right behind.

* * *

Notes:

This was interesting chapter to write with the biggest challenge being the introduction of 'Infusion Trade' and getting all our characters on board. Though, I don't think that should be hard.

Outside of that, remember to eat. It could save your life.

.

Next time: Man. A mouth to match that of his master's.


	23. What a...

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Back outside, our heroes took the time to warm up. Well, I can only assume as much. Especially as the large ice cube of a clothing store slowly melted in front of them. Which our shopkeeper deemed as a perfect time to run off and possibly spend some time with their significant other.

"Sorry about this, Yvonne." she explained, getting a look at the barbarian's garb for the moment. "You do look nice in Marulyn's clothes."

Yvonne's face went pink, trying her best to hide it from view for the moment. But it was quite obvious at the moment. Especially when Blaze and company noticed the garment in question. Which brings with it the obvious question of 'why'.

"The alleyways got destroyed with vines by the Artisan." Yvonne explained, taking a deep breath as her gaze returned to Blaze and Dave. "Also, Madame might've drugged you two."

Time seems to stand still, Blaze's grip tightening on his boyfriend's hand. Part of him wanted to lash out at the moment, go hunt down Madame. But he took a deep breath. No use in setting a bad example. Especially with how tired he was at the moment.

"You going to be alright?" Balamon inquired, feeling his partner's body shift slightly. A nod followed. "Okay. We might want to make this quick."

Yvonne nodded, a deep breath following. Guess we're going to get an answer to the elephant in the room at the moment. Though, I do see a teddy bear poking out. Just can't seem to get it away from you, can you? Always has a way of returning to you.

"Marulyn (my girlfriend) is 'hopefully' repairing my armor." the barbarian explained as she shifted the robes slightly. "To make sure she wasn't doing something stupid and try to 'improve' it, I left Munbimon with her."

.

"Let's see now…"

In the little corner of the alleyways, a 'hidden' workshop was bustling with action. The hum of a forge echoes about, the subjects staring over the work.

"I'm throwing you off, aren't I?" Munbimon remarked, Marulyn looking away. The result is crystal clear though. She can see it everywhere. From the lines marking what look to be lifespans for both elves and orcs. Anatomy charts and of course, the suits of armor. Most of those deplyed in the defense of the alleyways are nothing more than scrap metal. "A thorn in your side, a spanner in the wo-"

Marulyn turned around. She's dressed in leather armor, a blacksmith's apron hanging right over it. Hammer in hand, work appears to be occurring on the gauntlets.

"What's a spanner?"

Munbimon looked away, just realizing the words that had just exited her mouth. Turning back to the mage, she took a deep breath.

"A tool. Doesn't really matter." the ghost monkey digimon remarked, trying her best to keep on topic after that social flub. "What's your endgame here?"

The words roll on out, Marulyn's gaze falling to the floor. When she got her hands on that halfling, more than words would be shed in that moment. But that was an unlikely possibility. No, what happened with that 'Artisan' guy and the vines was just pure coincidence and nothing more. Then why was that woman so fixated on knowing about her and Yvonne's relationship? Sure, it was kind of public knowledge at this point among the orcs and succubi that made up the tribe inhabiting Aldia. Maybe it was a way to understand the barbarian better. Though, there's a multitude of ways to accomplish that without asking her.

"To have her around for along as I'm alive." Marulyn whispered, Munbimon's gaze turning to one of the suits of armor. This one in particular seemed to be a near complete match to the one that Yvonne usually wore. But on closer inspection, it appeared to be more ornamental. A mix of what Munbimon assumed to be elven symbols written within. "Whether that takes the form of a suit of armor or turning her into a succu-"

Munbimon floated over to the mage, giving her a slight slap. Marulyn took the gesture, pulling the ghost monkey digimon off of her.

"What about now?" Munbimon remarked, not at all amused. "She really wants to give you back that bear of yours. Why do you go out of your way to evade her? Some secret project or something?"

She initially received silence as her answer, her subject looking back to her incomplete work. Was there really an answer that would some fulfill the somewhat lofty requirements that this ghost monkey wanted from her at the moment. Sure, she had wanted to keep her goals a bit more secretive, but that plan had gone out the window yesterday.

"Yvonne has so much work, protecting the village from any potential invaders." Marulyn started, gaze slowly returning to her guest. "She's the daughter of the chieftain, I need to make sure that her burden is eased as much as possible."

Another slap. This one, a lot less subtle. Lot more painful too. More of a light scratch than anything playful. Surprising that such a small creature can pack quite a punch. But when you don't know anything about them, that can make this all a learning process. Not that I mind such things.

"You need to savor the time you have with her now, not the time that comes after." the ghost monkey digimon announced, her partner for the moment returning to their work. "I don't know how long I'll get with Yvonne. For all I know, she might not be the first person that I've ever been with. I have no real way of knowing."

Closing her eyes, she saw a person. The details were all a blur, almost as if to taunt her in that moment. Just barely, she could make out a large block of steel with wheels. Wonder what's that?

"You alright?"

Munbimon opened her eyes, gaze meeting returning Marulyn for the moment. The words spoken have done nothing for her. Guess you'll need more for that.

"I know." the mage remarked, turning back to her work. "Doesn't change things at the moment. I understand where you're coming from though."

.

"She should hopefully be alright." Yvonne remarked, Blaze taking a deep breath. Guess it was now his turn to tell his story. Not that they could see that cutaway. Not sure if that's for the best. "So I'm guessing you guys had a run-in with him as well?"

Blaze and Dave nod. Bubbles does the same, only to look towards Yvonne for the moment.

"Madame, not want me?" the dragon cooed, the three humanoids looking away. While this had come up earlier today, the dancer and his maid had thought they had nipped it in the bud. Guess that was far from the case. Especially with that sigh from Yvonne at the moment.

"I think she just needed some time alone." the barbarian explained, Bubbles half-listening to her right now. "Maybe later, she'll want to be with you."

That answer gets her a look. The head pat that follows does some work in easing the way he probably feels at the moment. But not much. Quite possible that Madame has made an effort to avoid her own home like the plague after grabbing her whip. For what reason, I'm not sure. Maybe she needs some time with her thoughts or perhaps all this time with people has made her want some time alone. Who can really say.

Then she's back on Blaze and Dave. Quite impressive how the initial goal of this conversation has been maneuvered around into all these side conversations. Not that I mind, just kind of frustrating. You guys have a way of derailing things. Guess I need to learn to adapt to that.

"After taking Dave to get some clothes and buying him a maid outfit for work at home." Blaze explained, Dave doing a curtsy for the moment. He's getting better, though he's a long way from getting it perfect. "Then the Artisan showed up on us."

Yvonne nodded, quite curious about where this would go. Not that it was a real secret at this point. Rantha kind of froze everything in his sight because he was hungry or something. Not that our heroes would really know about that.

"He was looking for a suit, you idiots." Carinamon announced, quite proud of himself for some reason. Blaze was bound to get to the part about the suit. No sense in rushing him at the moment. It's been kind of a long day. "If anything, it's your fault for pissing him off."

Blaze knelt down and looked towards the scorpion. While Carinamon had made reference to something earlier today, he hadn't elaborated on it. Considering that it happened all in the middle of his request to see Blaze dance, let's hear this.

"He and I had a 'trip' of sorts." the scorpion digimon explained, trying his best to make sure he was heard. Even while still being held by Bubbles still. Though, I think he most definitely was. "We saw… our home."  
Yvonne joined Blaze in kneeling down. Though, Balamon had taken the snake equivalent of sitting for the moment. Never know when your opponent's digimon partner is going to break free and attack everyone again.

"Where exactly is your home?" Yvonne continued, getting a look as she set her warhammer down. Though the hand still hanging onto it was more of a defense mechanism for the moment. Don't blame her for feeling that way. When the place you lived in has been leveled to the ground, you kind of have to work your way back up to being fine.

"How the heck am I supposed to know?" Carinamon answered, claws clicking rapidly at the moment. Ribbon had been fitted on the wrists, contrasting greatly with the feathers at the moment. "It just… happened. I'm not really sure how to explain it to you numbskulls. Let alone why I was shown this place again."

A light pat from Bubbles followed his statement, not that it was really reciprocated. If anything, Carinamon seemed ready to try and make a break for it.

"Don't even think about it." Phusitmon warned, warming up for any possible bubble blowing. Kind of harmless looking, but effective when the situation came up. "Suppose you do escape, then what? Your master has pissed off a good chunk of the town. You're not going to get real far."

Carinamon just sighed. They had him beat, more or less. Even if he did escape the arms of his captor, what was the point? Between the dancer and the not-so-armored orc lady, they could easily catch him. Though, you're also forgetting about Bubbles at the moment. At least consider him in your analysis. He's just as big of a team member as Madame. Even if she isn't here right now.

"Fine. I'll cooperate." he muttered, everyone's gazes back on him for the moment. "Anything you would like to as-"

"Caarpton?" the little dragon croaked out, trying to smooth his dress right after. Thankfully, he had the help of Phusitmon in that regard. Even if Carinamon had to ruin it by smashing his stinger into the dragon's body. How rude.

"Oh right. That little magic trick." the scorpion digimon muttered, smirk forming his face. Not sure what he could be so happy about. "Unlike you numbskulls who refuse to digivolve your digimon or just don't know how to, Distant Harmony have that power and even more. But to harness it, we have to force ourselves to limit our abilities so it doesn't work."  
That statement sounds like something you pull out of your nonexistent butt.

"Digivolution?" Yvonne inquired, grip on her warhammer tightening. While she didn't see a problem in the way they were doing things, but for their supposed opponents to somehow be better than them? Okay, there might be some supposed grain of truth to that. But something told her that was highly unlikely. They had to be at least evenly matched. So she let her gaze focus on Balamon and Phusitmon for the moment. They don't seem to really understand it either.

"Yes, the process of going one form to another." Carinamon continued, ready to laugh. Please don't. I doubt Rantha would li- "Don't you say that name."

Why not? You seemed totally fine when I referred to your partner by that in the clothing store.

"Just. Shut. Your. Fucking. Mouth."

Joke's on you. I'm scribing this down. You're just hearing my commentary the few times I'm actually speaking.

"Go eat a bag of dicks." Carinamon muttered, feeling his entire body get hugged by Bubbles. When that didn't work, he squeezed even harder. Uh… You might want to try a different tactic at this point. Mostly because this definitely isn't working. Sort of like call me a bag of dicks. I don't even care that you called me that. I'm more annoyed that you didn't go with a bag of shit instead. "So, are you going to stand here all cute, or are you actually going to move?"

Ignoring the stupid scorpion for the moment, Bubbles looked about. While he had possibly hoped to see Madame at this point, it's kind of unlikely their paths wi-

"She's probably in the cemetery." Carinamon announced, Bubbles breaking into a full-on dash. There was a wave behind him, even if the dash wasn't so refined at the moment.

Which brings right back to Yvonne and co.

"Well… crud." Blaze remarked, taking a deep breath. A squeeze of Dave's hand followed. "As I was saying, the Artisan wanted me to dance for him. Then he froze the entire clothing store over."

Yvonne nodded and stood back up for the moment. Blaze did something similar, but not before giving Balamon a chance to slither back onto his leg. Then it's a short trip up to his shoulder.

"Then your dragon friend, Bubbles did something and got himself poison powers from Carinamon." Dave added, letting out a deep breath as his gaze turned to that of his master. While there was a possibility of no dinner, he got the feeling that he wouldn't go hungry tonight. Hopefully. Would suck if he did. "You do know of a cheap restaurant for lunch/maybe dinner?"

Yvonne chuckled.

"The Shaky Walls Cafe is always a good bet." the barbarian suggested, getting a nod from Dave in return. "Is that all?"

Blaze nodded, giving a wave right after as the pair headed off. Which just leaves Yvonne for the moment. Mission definitely not accomplished. Sure, she had hoped to get a change of clothes, but that was unlikely with all the ice at the moment.

"I guess I can go back." she thought, beginning the trip back towards the alleyways. Even from here, the damage was quite visible. At least a couple months work, possibly years before they would be back to normal. Yet, she pushed that thought out of her head. Right now, she had a single destination in mind and there was little to stop her at the moment. But as her destination came into view, she took a deep breath. While the barbarian always had her suspicions on what Marulyn wanted to do, this was the moment of truth. Pulling the door open, she takes the room in.

It's still the same room from our earlier cutaway. All the posters and other creepy, incriminating stuff

Memory of Madame's warning comes right back to her. Though after the appearance of those winged armors, things look to be crashing down.

"Welcome." Munbimon greeted, making her way over to her partner. "Marulyn didn't make any modifications, but she was tempted too."

Marulyn nodded, watching Yvonne pull the teddy bear out. She tries to hand it over to her girlfriend, but the mage refused. Handing it back,

"I'm not ready to have him back yet." Marulyn explained, getting a sigh from the barbarian. Definitely not the answer Yvonne had been hoping for. Especially as she walked over to her armor and fitted it on. "I'm sorry."

Marulyn got a head shake.

"I'm not entirely sure how to feel, Marulyn." Yvonne explained, trying her best to ignore the decorations of her girlfriend's private abode. "It's just… I'm not sure if we both have the same idea on what we want our relationship to be."

Munbimon shot her a glance. Kind of expected if that cutaway is anything to go about. No offense to Marulyn, of course.

"So you're breaking up wi-"

Yvonne shook her head. That was the last thing that the barbarian wanted at this point. No, what was needed was something else entirely - refocusing of some kind. Getting on the same page for any future bumps in the road after so much together. Of which there were bound to be many. Such as this particular one right in front of them going down right

"No, I just think we both want the same thing - but we're going about it in such a way that we're working against each other." the barbarian explained, Munbimon climbing up onto her back. "Do you think we can both think about it at least?"

Marulyn nodded, watching the pair exit. While her plans had changed, that was the least of her worries. Right now, she just needed to think. Maybe then, some sort of solution or better yet - the next step would come her way. Yet, why did her heart beat just a bit faster in that moment. While the fear of getting rejected after taking the next step had been there, it quickly got replaced with something else. Was this love? Or are you both just a bit crazy? I think it's a little bit of both. Nothing wrong with that,

"I will, Yvonne." Marulyn muttered, turning her attention to her plans. For the moment at least, those would need to go on the back burner.

* * *

Notes:

Believe or not, that last scene was probably one of the hardest I've had to write. Mostly because I wanted it to not be complete mess while at the same time, making it clear that Yvonne was not happy about this. Though, maybe if Marulyn had brought the idea the idea then maybe she would be a bit more receptive to it. We'll have to see.

At the time of posting, Digital Dungeons will be going on a short break. Mostly so I can play Pokemon Sword.


	24. Are you a boy or a girl?

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Bubbles was in no way the sharpest blade in the sword stand. If he wasn't, then Carinamon wouldn't have been able to easily lead him over here to the graveyard. As narrated by me, a supposed 'bag of dicks'. Nothing really gets me down. Unless it's on my end. That's a far different story.

Nonetheless, we (Bubbles, Phusitmon and Carinamon) find ourselves in the graveyard. Graves are still unmarked and the sound of earth being moved echoes about. Talk about a lucky shot in the dark or something.

"Princess?" Bubbles called out, scanning the area for his princess. Even when she wasn't in her dress, Madame was pretty easy to find. Though with all these gravestones, this advantage was mostly nullified. "Princess!"

For a brief moment, the digging stops and the sound of possible panic echoes through the graveyard. But it is too late. Bubbles was making a beeline right towards the source of the noise with little sign of stopping. Which judging by the hole that's currently being dug by our thief. Which was where the little dragon found his most favorite person. Kollmon stood guard, though she didn't have enough time to really warn her.

"Oh." Madame muttered, setting her shovel down for the moment. The bodies of her maids from the other day lays patiently. Rewarded with eternal rest, they just need to be buried. Her focus isn't even on Bubbles currently, debating her options for the possible mess she had created for herself. "Uh… How did you sleep?"

Bubbles looked towards his guardian, confused. Sure, he had heard Blaze and his boyfriend getting drugged by her, but that couldn't be true. There had to be another explanation for this. Right? Madame wouldn't double cross him for such a selfish reason.

"Drug?"

Carinamon let out a chuckle. He hadn't expected to his captor to be so direct. If he was lucky, these two would fight it out and he could just book it. But for the moment, he focused on whatever was going to come out of the thief's mouth next. Just in case.

"Yeah… that." Madame muttered, gaze finally on Bubbles right now. "I needed to grab my whip and I uh…"

Madame looks away, whipping the ground right after. But Bubbles was still standing there. Phusitmon gets down, inching his way towards the grave. Time for the big guns then.

"And you thought drugging the five year old because he would just follow you was somehow a good idea?" Phusitmon accused, gaze split between Kollmon and Madame at the moment. Normally, he preferred to avoid conflict and let his partner do most of the talking. But right now, it was unlikely that Bubbles would actually get through to the thief. So he was going to step up for him.. "Can you at least try to be a team player for once? At least for Bubbles sake."

Kollmon rolled her eyes, claws slashing into the side of a body. Mumbles of her strange speech pattern pierce right on through. Nowhere near the level that they can actually be heard on my end. Too cooperative of a move for the moment. A pattern of sorts, if you want to call it that.

"Like, that's what I told her!" Kollmon countered, Bubbles finding his way over to her. Very carefully, he gave the mole digimon a hug. Nice effort, even if he was still holding Carinamon at the moment. "Oh my gosh! Isn't that like the Artasan guy's scorpion?"

Madame held a hand to her forehead. Kollmon just had to flub it at the last moment, didn't she? Just the simple act of keeping herself straight and maybe try to stay on her side for once was just too difficult. Because of course it was. That just had to explain the string of bad luck over the past couple days she had been having. Just had too. Though if Bubbles had gotten the Artisan's scorpion, maybe they could use that to their advantage.

Carefully, Madame got out of her hole. Did leave the shovel down there. Possible plans for when things go wrong? Could be. Or perhaps she plans to finish this job after this.

"May I see your friend?" they inquired, getting a confused look from the dragon. "I won't hurt you again. I promise."

The words roll out, registering just a couple seconds later. Quite a lofty promise. Especially when you have a habit of being less than honest with people. Good enough for Bubbles.

"Okay!" Bubbles answered and handed Carinamon to Madame. Turning to his partner, it was the rabbit digimon's turn to be carried. Not that Phusitmon seemed to mind. Even if Carinamon looked a touch jealous right now.

"So you're the one who went through all that trouble for just one measly whip." he muttered, getting an eye roll from Madame. "If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were part of Dist-"  
Madame smashed the scorpion digimon into the dirt, rubbing his body aboutjust for good measure.

"I want to make one thing crystal clear to you, ruffian." Madame barked, hands curling up in anticipation for her opponent's counter attack. When no such attack came, she carefully picked Carinamon back up. Did grab his stinger as a precaution. "I am not on your side. My actions might make it look like I am, but I assure you. I. am. Not."  
Her passenger let out a chuckle as Bubbles and Kollmon focused in on her. That was to be expected though. The actions taken yesterday did not paint the best picture of her goals, for better or worse. Even more so in regards to our little dragon. Even as he hung over her head as some sort of strange temptation, Madame was confident in finding a solution.

"Like, for real? Because you seem like a soco, a socco… a sociopath." Kollmon countered, inching a bit closer to the hole at the moment. Uh… what's that, exactly? Outside of sounding less than great. Got that part loud and clear. Wait… Social means talking. Path probably doesn't a path literally here. Probably, in the more figurative sense.

"You do realize that your partner didn't understand what you just called them." Carinamon countered, gaze on Kollmon for now. "Or is your brain just as bubbly as your body?"

Kollmon flashed a claw at the scorpion. I don't think it quite had the desired effect she was looking for.

"Like, that's not true." she muttered, receiving a head pat from Bubbles. While the gesture helped her emotional state, the mole digimon was still pissed. So what if she had just confused Madame. At this point, she brought this on herself. Or themself. Whatever the heck they wanted to be called. "I'm like totally, totally... smart!"

Madame just rolled her eyes. This was exactly what she was talking about. Sometimes there was something insightful. Other times, nothing but dead air. No happy medium seemed to exist with her.

"Prove it." the thief remarked, turning to face her partner. This should put an end to this. For good, hopefully. If not, she could use this opportunity to truly take control.

"Your hair isn't yours, nor are those tits." Kollmon countered, pointing towards Madame's chest for the moment. Uh… you're playing with fire. Especially since the only way to find out is for our thief to change out. Unless… they don't know how too. Always a possibility. Had to teach a couple people how to take their robes off the other day. A lot of people have conditions that aren't quite visible. Sure, wizards aren't quite the most observant of people, nor are we good at serving as counselors. That's what warlocks are for. What? Everyone assumes that they're overdramatic drama queens with a tinge of the devil. And some of them are. The academy mostly hires those chosen by archfey. Okay, they weren't quite given the choice of patron. Though one or two that I've had the pleasure of working with had said they've seen a beautiful woman in a winter wonderland. Something about sitting in a simple chair, succubus sitting in her lap. Sometimes they're dancing. Other times, just sitting. Quite a looker. But taken. Not that I would really know in regards to love.

"Hey, that would be kind of funny." Carinamon announced, getting a look from both Madame and Bubbles at the moment. Might want to keep that mouth of yours shut. "The girly girl turns out to be a guy all along! Who would've thought that"

Madame froze, gaze sitting firmly on the dirt. Had everything she had believed been some big old lie perpetuated for her ancestors sake. That couldn't be it. Her partner had to be lying out of her ass at the moment and was trying to throw shade onto her face. So she took a deep breath, grabbing hold of a claw from Carinamon. If this didn't work, then this was a mystery they would have to solve some other day. Just in case, she motioned for Bubbles to come over.

"Princess?" Bubbles inquired, watching his guardian take a deep breath and sit down. Their gazes met, needles in her head. "Help?"

Madame nodded, already feeling the little dragon grab hold of their hair and pull. It hurt quite a lot. Not that this was stopping the thief from running Carinamon's stinger across their chest at the same time. Initially, it's just a single slice. The second round though, the result is crystal clear. A pair of breasts fall right on out. Which I'm for certain that is not how breasts work whatsoever, I think.

All while Bubbles tries his best to heal the holes in Madame's head. Maybe that will get her some proper locks of hair. Okay, that's just wishful thinking.

"Holes." Bubbles inquired, hard at work with his healing touch thing. Sure, he had seen the pair of mounds fall to the ground. But that was the least of his worries. These holes had been done quite sloppily. The fact that Madame hadn't gotten something bad as a result of this was nothing short of miraculous, but that just brought further questions. "Princess, alright?"

Madame's expression remained unchanged. While having the holes in her head fixed was nice, that didn't change the fact that her partner was right to an extent. Also made Kollmon actually smart. Supposedly. Okay, I will concede that fact is a bitter pill to swallow. Maybe there's a grain of truth to it.

"How do you know Madame's breasts were fake?" Phusitmon remarked, Kollmon looking out into the sky. For a few miniscule seconds, the mole digimon is no longer in the graveyard. Instead, she was standing in a sterile room with a bunch of people. Standing around a table, there looks to be strange round things similar to the ones that Madame now formerly sported. It all felt so familiar, but somehow not at the same time. People were talking, of note was a woman with quite impressive mounds. Like seriously, those sure as fuck aren't natural. Not one bit. Blonde hair and blue-eyed, a ring hung from her finger. Quite pretty, a sign of something maybe? As quickly as she found herself here, it's back to reality and the cemetary. "Kollmon?"

The mole digimon's gaze swiveled back over to Phusitmon. A deep breath, which looked to be more of a sigh in that moment. After, she scooped the false boobs up. Safekeeping? Yeah, just in case her mistress wanted to wear them. Though, I think that's quite unlikely at the moment.

"Yes?" she answered, trying her best to think up a reason on the spot. This felt like something the mole digimon knew like the back of her ha- I mean paw. Keep forgetting that they aren't humans. "I guess I've um… seen a lot of those in the past. I think."

Phusitmon nodded, taking her answer with a huge grain of salt. Right after, their gazes were back on Bubbles and Madame.

The last of the work had just been finished by the little dragon, his attention turning to the thief's chest. Holding a paw out, he pulled it away at the last moment. Madame's chest needed to be examined, but not by him. He was a priest for a possibly dead goddess. This required someone with a bit more medical know-how. So he let his focus stay on his guardian. But who exactly could they go to? Sure, there was Yvonne. Ella even, but they probably had their own share of problems to be dealt with. Maybe that Dave guy? He seemed like someone who had some idea, even if he didn't really know. Wait. There was those ladies at that restaurant. Maybe they had some idea of what he could do in this moment. Even if the one seemed insistent on serving goop to Madame. Quite rude of her. Couldn't she see that

"I'm guessing you want to take me somewhere?" they inquired, seemingly fine with their lack of bust for the moment. Probably feel just a touch lighter. She was still hanging onto Carinamon, somehow. Whip too. Don't want a repeat of last time.

Grabbing hold of Madame's hand, he pulled them out of the graveyard and towards the Shaky Walls Cafe. Considering that there isn't really any other

"Sorry." he whispered, giving their partners a chance to catch up to them for the moment. Then he's back on "Still friends?"

Madame looked away. While sure, the whole mess with the whip could've gone a heck of a lot better. She was going to need a change of plans. Or in other words, maybe working with people this time around. Not much of a choice here.

"Oh my. Look who got their butt dragged in." Marigold announced, making her way over to the pair. "I guess you see what you are now."

Madame rolled their eyes. The last thing they needed right now was this mess

"Could you just hold this stupid scorpion for the moment and get us some actual food." Madame barked, taking a seat. Bubbles joined them, their partners bringing up the rear. "And it better not be a plate of goop."

Marigold nodded, making a beeline for the kitchen as her customers took a moment to take a deep breath. The last couple minutes had felt like a crazy blur, almost impossible to really believe in this moment. That had really happened. Was her entire life really just a set of really well told lies that everyone had taken at face value.

"Madame?" a voice announced, Blaze and Dave approaching our duo. They look to be an alright mood, the fatigue of the fight with the Artisan still clearly on their faces at the moment. No sign of a weapon being drawn. So it isn't all doom and gloom. Even Dave still hasn't gotten around to trying on his other outfits. Tomorrow. "Uh… What happened to you?"

Madame looked away. How were they going to explain this fucking mess when they had no real way of explaining it themselves? Just make something up? No, that would be perpetuating the mess that they got into in the first place. Tell the truth? While that might get them some good will, would that really be their best option at the moment?

"Things that I thought were true turned out to not be." Madame mumbled, looking down at the table. "You can laugh if you want."

Blaze looked away, hand going to his scimitar. But no blade is facing down Madame moments later. To some extent, this is just one more mystery on the massive pile they were making. Sooner or later, it was bound to balance out and they would be able to get to the bottom of this. But that would come later down the road.

"Could I get a little help here?" the dancer mumbled, turning to Dave. Oh right. LGBTQ. Yeah. This might be something better explained by him. So the maid gave a nod and sat himself down at the table.

"Uh… hi." Dave greeted, getting a look from Madame. While unlikely to recognize him at the moment, it was worth a shot of getting to the bottom of this. "I'm guessing you're Madame?"

Madame nodded, Bubbles finding his way into their lap. At this point, such comfort was kind of necessary.

"What about it?" they remark, getting a look from both Kollmon and Balamon at the moment. Not the worst people in the world, but that wasn't really saying much right now.

"Blaze just wanted to make sure that you're alright." Dave finally answered, bending down slightly to be around Madame's level. Not sure if the thief really appreciated the gesture though. Seemed more frustrated than anything right now. Not that I blame her for feeling that way. Whole world just went upside down and there's no real way of flipping it right side up. "You're outfit is messed up and you're running around with your chest exposed. Did something happen?"

Silence fell over the thief, tears beginning to run down their face. The words refuse to exit from the mouth. By force, it all comes out in one burst.

"Idon'tevenknowwhoIam."

* * *

Notes:

I'm back! Now that I've finished up a couple projects, I feel refreshed and ready to get back to work on this. Though, that did mean having to com to this and trying to decide how I wanted the scene at the end. After his battle with the artisan, I doubt our dancer would want to cause any more trouble. Though, I don't think there was much Dave could actually do.

.

Next time: Rantha tries to find a suit. It's more likely than you think.


	25. Distant HARMony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning! The following chapter does contain references to self-harm. You've been warned.

I don't own digimon. 

* * *

Rantha looked through his wardrobe.

He had hoped to find a suit of some kind in there, on the off chance that he somehow misplaced such a garment. Sadly, he hadn't. Considering he went out of his way to freeze an entire garment shop yesterday, I don't think anything has changed. But the collection of labcoats and other miscellaneous clothes do look nice.

As for 'his' room, it looks more like something from my employer. Which feels odd to say since this weird floating base probably exists high above Aldia. Doesn't seem like the safest place. Good target for giants beams of energy. Or even something like a large rock to smash into. But what do I know?

"Just shut the fuck up."

Not entirely sure how I would go about doing that. Silence may sound nice to you guys, but it in no way can be the sole thing of the experience. Though, your partner said the same. Also called me a bag of dicks.

"Whatever." Rantha muttered, mask sitting comfortably on the floor. "Not that you would ever understand."

What is with you just assuming that I'm somehow a perfect human being. I'm not. Far from it in fact. Not everything I've done has come out the way I wanted it to. But that's the nature of life. For all the bad alway will come some wrinkle of good. And vice-versa. Did you get that, or do I need to continue this lecture?

"No." Rantha muttered, trying to find something, anything to focus on that wasn't me for the moment. Quite a challenge considering I need to keep an eye on you at all times. So, care to tell me what you're on for the moment? It doesn't even have to be true. Just something to give me a better idea. "It's a spaceship."

That's nice. Wait. What's a spaceship? Is that something like airship, but goes up even higher than those balloon-powered things? Or am I not thinking big enough in that particular regard?

Rantha just chuckled. He sat himself down on his bed, reaching across for the nightstand. Looks kind of like a floating shelf. There, he grabbed what looked to be what I can only describe as a metal ship of sorts. Except it was all enclosed.

"Imagine a large tube of metal that flies far higher than you could ever imagine." the Artisan muttered, holding it up for me to see. Thank you for explaining that. I'll make a note of it for some other day. "Yeah. This has been my home since we left. "

Taking a deep breath, he smashed a fast into his thigh. Please don't do that. Hurting yourself is not going to help what's a tactical move. The pain might feel nice in that moment, but there's always better alternatives to this destruction behavior. I know I shouldn't be saying this, but I've had these days in the past.

But he kept doing it. Again and again he would repeat the same routine - outcome remaining the same each time. It's almost… disheartening to an extent. But I o

Rantha just put his hands up to his ears. Guess that wasn't the answer that he wished to hear. No, I would be heard within his mind. This has to be something else at the moment. Especially as our artisan here got off of his bed and headed for the doorframe.

Poking his head out, he makes sure to look both ways.

"Ingo, that better not be you." Rantha muttered, what looked to be a stick coming out. Not entirely sure what that's about? Unless this is somehow a daily occurence. "Oh for fuck sake."

Right as he said that, a large wooden humanoid thing slinked its way down the glistening hall. Decked out in a red dress with a short hem, with a bunch of crimson ribbon decorating the garment. White gloves covered just beyond the wrist, with a pair of knee-high heeled boots snaking their way up the legs. No face though.

The gray with a white stripe looks nice on the wall though. Can't quite see the floor though, but it'll probably come up later in some sort of meaningful way. Maybe a metaphor. But right now, we have a strange lady dressed in what looks like an impractical outfit for day-to-day life.

"She's a magical girl, dummy." Rantha muttered, gaze fixated on the wall for the moment. "Well, this particular one used to be."

Used to be? Better yet, what exactly do you mean by that in the first place. Or are we not on a talking level for the moment. I'm aware that you people are going to boot me out at any moment. I'm just trying to get a clearer picture. What makes you all tick, more or less.

Before our artisan here could elaborate, a tall woman came running in on the scene. Decked out in a snow white dress with blue wing-shaped buckles over what I can only assume to be her bust, she's alright. I've seen prettier. Especially for a celestial. Not that I'm really interested or anything. Okay. Maybe I'm a little jealous. I can't remember the last time that I've been outside of this academy. And one of my favorite memories was seeing a beautiful angel at a fair. She (well, I think it was a she) commanded her troops to take on what I assume to be her partner-in-crime - a demon of some kind. Guess that's not strange. Not all creatures feel they must have their personalities dictated by the facets of 'alignment'. But I've gone completely off-topic here. My mistake.

A metal helmet hung tightly over a majority of her face, leaving ashen lips and blonde hair that looks more of a black color than the yellow you would expect here. A feathery court heel snuck it's way out from under the dress with the other shoe comfortable hidden by the skirt. Especially with that pair of angelic wings on her back. Yet, there's something off about her. While decked out as this woman is, she's giving off an aura of contradiction.

"Shut it, brat." the woman announced, pants just sneaking a peek out from underneath. Wonder what's that about. "So what if I'm wearing jeans under here? No one seems to be having an issue with it."

Good to know. Do you at least have a name that I can refer to you by? I feel kind of bad calling you 'woman/tall lady'. Even if those are my default greetings.

Our mystery person just shrugged. That wasn't very helpful.

"I'm uh… an Angewomon." she muttered, picking up this strange doll. "Though, I wouldn't be worried about me and my mistress's problem."

With that, she headed back the way she came. Which is just rude.

"She's always like that." Rantha muttered, continuing his way down the hall. "Claims to be a digimon, but her heart beats with something else."

I'll take your word for it. Even if I have sneaking suspicion that there's far more to this. Though, do other digimon have hearts like hers?

Rantha looked away, gaze on the ground. Thoughts of Carinamon entered his head once more, a reminder of his mistake from the day before. How could he have been so stupid? This was his partner of all things and he left him with some little dragon. If he hadn't been so frustrated in his pursuit for a suit of all things.

"Could you stop reading my thoughts, please?" he eventually announced, even more pissed now than he was before running into that creepy doll thin. "Maybe Ingo has a suit by chance."

Turning to the left, our artisan here came upon another hallway. Unlike the one we just left, there looks to be a door on both sides with the hallway coming to a complete stop right after. Though, I guess you could expand in the future with three or four more rooms at most. Even if I'm not entirely certain how you would go about adding additional rooms. If you just ignore the multitude of bangs and impacts of fists and feet.

Not that such an idea crossed Rantha's mind at the moment, already heading for the left side of the hall. Much like everything else in this corridor, the door looked like it's been sliced in half at least once - maybe twice even. As a result, the whole thing was being held together by a strange white paste and nails. Though, I don't think you're supposed to do it like that. One or the other might have been better with this block of wood. Maybe switch out for a steel one?

Rantha just rolled his eyes and tapped the door. A piece fell onto the floor. Are you sure it's a good idea to borrow a suit from this guy? Better yet, is there seriously not anyone else on this ship who has a suit you could borrow? This seems like a lot of work for what is obviously a trap by one of the heroes. If anything, they almost want you to go through the trouble of getting this garment and arriving all fancy.

Rantha's gaze turned to the ceiling, shaking his fist that way. Not entirely sure what that's supposed to accomplish. Outside of making me laugh of course.

"I thought you were on their side." he muttered, attention returning back to the door. To answer your question, yes. I'm just trying to understand why you're so intent on finding this one particular garment when the normal clothes you probably like to wear are more than good enough for any occasion. Just saying. "You're not helping."

Before this argument could really continue, the titular 'Ingo' opened his door. I don't think you're supposed to rip your side of the doorknob off in the process. I think, at least. That could be something that's part of your culture and I would be none the wiser in that regard. Or not.

As for Ingo himself, we find ourselves staring down a very pale humanoid. Gray eyes stare up towards the ceiling for the briefest of moments, then it's back to Rantha. Priest garments cover his body, even if I can just make out all the dirt and grime on the garment. Which was on top of all the patches applied to the garb in the first place. Though, I'm not sure what that strange

"INGO IS HERE!" Ingo announced, having somehow not learned how to use his indoor voice. Where's that dampening spell scroll when you need it. Crud. I used my last one the other day for a war mage council. I had been told to take notes for it. Just one small problem - war mages talk a mile a minute. By the time you have your first sentence down, they've already spoken a paragraph. Makes keeping track of all things said nearly impossible unless you have a war mage writing everything down. With all these battles on the horizon, guess that's why there supposedly excellent motivational speakers. Not that I can really prove it, even if I was in the room with around twelve of them. "HI TALKING MENTAL VOICE!"

Uh… Hi Ingo? It's nice to meet you. Could you kindly speak in a nor-

"NO! INGO SPEAK LIKE THIS! ALWAYS!"

Rantha let out a chuckle. I guess someone is having fun here at my expense. Thankfully, his attention was still on this strange person. Rather than me. Which I guess is a blessing? Maybe.

"Ingo, by any chance do you have a suit?" he inquired, getting a confused look. Then a nod. Oh dear. He's confused.

"INGO DEFINITELY HAVE SUIT!" Ingo answered, taking a step back to allow for his guest to enter. Inside, the whole place looked like someone had dumped a bazillion scrolls on the floor, jumped all over them, tore them up, spat on them and then did questionable things that I'm not going to get into. All of which is just burning right now. Which begs the question of how the heck this is seen as one, safe and secondly, how the fuck is this ship not on fire? That has to be a major hazard, especially if this thing requires oxygen and stuff. "LIKE IT? INGO GOT NICE FIERY EGG WITH GOD'S SYMBOL ON IT!"

Shifting the camera to the left, we come upon a wardrobe and the titular 'fiery egg'. It's like the big guy said pretty much. Outside of forgetting the fact that there's a giant horn jutting out of the thing. Like seriously, that thing could kill a person! You have it set up in such a way that it could easily fall and pierce right through someone's body. At least there isn't any glass in the vicinity. That's not saying much, now that I think about.

"INGO DOES NOT SEE PROBLEM HERE!"

I'm going to assume that you're always like this. I guess there's worse ways to deal with your particular brand of mess. Though, standing in flames isn't going to make things better for you. No matter what you think in that regard.

Ingo makes his way over, pulling open the wardrobe. Inside was the suit our artisan was looking for. Quest complete or something. Not really a quest, but I think you get the idea.

"Thank you, Ingo." Rantha remarked, scooping up the suit and making his way back towards the exit. "I'll make sure to have it back by tomorrow."

Ingo nodded and watched his friend head back into the hallway. There, Rantha took a deep breath. Followed by mumbling something less than nice. No honor among you guys, I guess.

"Just come out and say it." he muttered, feet already heading for the opposite door. Still not going to say it. "Whatever, asshole."

I'm not an asshole. If anything, you're more of an asshole than me. Still think you would look better without the suit.

Rantha rolled his eyes, giving the door one more tap. The tapping of feet followed, with the door opening up right after. Out popped Melody's head, a light scent of what might possibly be cinnamon coming with her.

"Oh! Mr Rantha. What can I uh… do for you?" the drow inquired, getting a deep breath from the artisan in return. "Is something wrong, by any chance?"

Rantha looked away.

"I need to help back down to Aldia. Want to come wi-" Rantha started, watching his companion poke their head back in and scrounge about. So he poked his head in.

Compared to the fiery mess Ingo had on full force, Melody's room was far more tame. Incense burned in the background, with a bunch of mats placed on the floor. All of her kimonos hung on strange metal holders, of which they were hanging from a metal bar. The most prominent thing in the room had to be the purple banner with a large spider on it. Looks kind of intimidating. Would help if there was an actual gust of wind.

"Do you need some help?" Rantha called out, watching Melody's gaze swivel back on over to him. Then it's onto the ground.

"Not really?" the drow croaked, flapping of wings just audible in the background. Which seemed to grow louder as Rantha approached. "Just ignore them. They sort of… showed up."

That got her a look, which also brought the creature in question into focus. At first glance, we seem to have a lantern of all things. Except it has the wings of a moth with no real discernible face.

"Any name or anything?" Rantha inquired, Melody picking up what appears to be a sickle and slipped it into her kimono.

"Not really." Harmony answered, her partner landing on her shoulder for the moment. That can't be too comfortable. "Though, I've been calling it Lumosmon."

Rantha nodded, already heading out of the room. Glad as he probably was to not be asked about Carinamon, he didn't want to risk any further talk about it. Melody got that message loud and clear, following right behind.

* * *

Notes:

Our first look at the Distant Harmony base. Totally not because I was in a rut on where to go after Madame's confession. Not one bit...

For those wondering why Ingo has the Digi-Egg of Courage and where he got it, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Something that should've happened didn't. The right man wasn't in the right place. Made all the difference in the world. ;)

Yes, Melody has D-Venture. Where it is and what form it took is a topic for another day.

.

Next Time: Madame tries to makes things better for themselves.


	26. Compromise in my own head

I don't own digimon.

* * *

As waking up goes, finding your head in a bowl of soup isn't the worst way in the world. You could be like that Ingo guy and sleep on a bed of constantly burning papers for some reason. That just sound awful of a way to wake up. Especially since you would be covered in burns that would need healing. Even then, how exactly would you go about sleeping? If I had that for a bed, I probably wouldn't. Oh right. I'm back here in Aldia. Sorry. I'm trying to do these back-to-back to make up for lost time. Not that I'm doing that well for the moment.

For Madame, that was how they found themselves at the moment. Though, there was a bit of surprise of the contents not being a whole bunch of goop. Quite a win.

"Good. You didn't accidentally drown yourself in your soup." a voice announced, forcing our thief to shift their focus to the left and get out of the bowl. Marigold currently stood over them, concerned. How long exactly was anyone's guess. Personally, I'm fairly certain it's just a couple of minutes. Maybe. Any more than that would look very stalkery. With that the amount of information that Marigold has, it would surprise me if that was the case here. "Though, you haven't even touched any of this. Oh well."

Grabbing the spoon, she slipped it into the bowl's contents and brought it to her customer's lips. Said customer refused to take a spoonful. Especially after explicitly asking for something that wasn't some variety of mystery goop. Absolutely disrespectful.

"It's not goop. I made sure that it wasn't." Marigold continued and forced the spoon in. Reluctantly, our thief gulped it all down. Tasted pretty good. Probably even better if it was actually fresh soup and maybe even hot. "What do you think?"

Madame looked away, gaze fixated on the floor for the moment. Recently cleaned, you can easily see your reflection within. Well, just Madame's for the moment.

"It's good, I guess." they muttered, frustration and fatigue echoing out as their attention returned to Marigold. "Do you ever have trouble with your identity?"

The words ring out, a chuckle servicing as the only answer for the moment. A deep breath followed, our host scooping into the soup once more.

"Some days." Marigold answered, taking a deep breath as she brought the spoon back to Madame once more. "I sometimes wonder myself if this is my first life, second or perhaps even more."

Huh… Was not expecting that. I guess it's entirely possible to have lived an entire life with bonds, adventures and then have to take on the strain of those memories. I'm not sure what I would do in that situation. Probably just go mad, maybe even lose my head.

Yet, Madame looks away. A million different thoughts seem to rage within, refusing to let go of this mess. Try as they might to move onward, the negativity held on even tighter than before.

'You're nothing more than a fraud.'

'The real madame wouldn't have fallen for such a simple, crude trap.'

'What made you think that was a good fucking idea? She was clearly an idiot.'

On and on these thoughts went, a boulder rolling down an endless hill with little sign of stopping. Run from it and the boulder just catches up. Hide from it and the boulder just finds you. Stand still? The boulder crushes you on it's merry way.

"Madame?"

The thief's gaze returned to Marigold, tears rolling down her face. Mumbles of garbled words drop to the ground. Yet, a hand finds its way to their back and pulled them closer. A hug would do some good, but it's slight pat that is gifted here. Then more soup. Crud. Now I want soup now. Sure, it's never quite meets the homemade stuff, but it's something. Sorry. I just got off topic there.

Yet, the thief swallowed this gift and focused back on the waitress. Always seeming to have some knowledge that they didn't, could the answer to this one nagging question be known to them. If not, could they at least give a general direction of where to go from here? Taking a deep breath and pushing the negative thoughts to the back corner, they let their focus return to the

"Do I look like a boy or girl to you?" Madame croaked out, silence creeping in from all angles. Marigold mumbled something to herself, gaze more on her outfit than her guest for the moment. A deep breath followed.

"That's not a question I can answer." Marigold announced and stood up, ignoring the death glare coming from Madame at the moment. "You're the only one who can really decide the answer to th-"

The bowl of soup was now airborne, shattering unceremoniously on the floor a few feet away. What a waste of a perfectly good meal.

"Why is it you're always so full of answers when I never need, but the one time I do you tell me off?" Madame screeched, whip already coming out. Why did people seem so insistent on never giving her a straight answer? Couldn't they see the mess she had inadvertently gotten herself into? Or did they all see a person having a tantrum for a world that felt the need to change the rules on her every time that it would like she would get on top?

Pulling her arm back, the thief let her weapon fly on out. First glance would suggest she was on her mark. Reality is sadly a harsh beast, with Marigold choosing instead to step out of the way and pick our thief up. Guess it was bound to happen eventually here with her. Goodwill gets you so far. It's bound to run out eventually. Then you have to face the consequences of your actions.

"I'm going to need you leave." Marigold barked, Madame kicking her with each step. "I get that you're angry, but this is something that only you can get to the bottom of right now. What 'she' did was of her own accord. We may have laid the foundation of this me-"

Madame's fist collided with Marigold's face, resulting in the waitress dropping her captive. Not wanting to take chances, Madame took this particular chance to exit the cafe. But where would they go from here? News could easily travel fast in this town. If hiding was best, Madame was going to need to find a place - and fast. Or would it be better to face this storm head-on. Throwing everything she had, no matter the consequences of such an act. Even within all of that, the adrenaline began to fade from within their body. Fatigue seemed ready to kick in once more, the world threatening to swirl about.

"Crud." they thought, gaze focusing in on the graveyard. Just one more fuck-up to add to the massive pile that seemed to be accruing at the moment. Had to be some way to turn this around for the foreseeable future.

"You could always let me take back control."

Took 'her' long enough to return. Yet, Madame ignored the other voice for the moment. Instead, they let their feet take them to the one place that might have some kind of answers - home. In retrospect, that probably what they should've done in the first place. After talking to that Dave dude (they could easily swing either way), the lack of sleep over the past couple days finally did them in. A problem that seemed ready to threaten them right now of all times.

"Just a little further…"

The mansion came into view. From the looks of things, someone had forgotten to lock things up for the night. While no one really stole from her (that would be absolutely silly), it was still a good safety measure. What if another thief were to somehow pop up and challenge them? Would their abilities be up to the task of keeping their turf.

"My offer still stands. " she thought, getting a mental groan in return. Of course they would refuse her offer. They currently had complete control of this body and could take Madame wherever they wanted too. Even passing through the gate, she was ready to launch a full-on attack. "Or are you just afraid of me?"

Madame came to a stop. Gazing for the ground, muttering of more garbled words following. This couldn't keep going this way. They were done arguing and now, it was time to reach an agreement of sorts.

"No." they thought and opened the door. Inside, everything looked the same. Bubbles hung at the top of the stairs, blissfully sleeping. Guess the little guy was waiting for his favorite princess to return and fell asleep. Quite a friend for our thief to have. "If anything, you should be afraid of me."

'She' ignored this mental threat, Madame choosing to make their way up the stairs. No real fancy movement here, just taking each step one at a time. Doubt her legs could really do that cool 'skip-every-other-step' thing I've seen some people do. But at the top, they took a seat.

"Just push him down. He most definitely deserves it." she thought, getting a head shake from the other part. "What? You think he has some sort of use? It's a dragon! A beast capable of death and destruction when the time comes! Open your eyes. Unless you have a plan of sorts."

Madame nodded, trying their best to not disturb Bubbles for the moment. He definitely needed the sleep, especially after putting in all that work. Which is discounting the fact the whole drugging thing from a couple days ago.

"It's our job to raise him till that point, princess dresses or not." Madame thought, taking a deep breath as they focused on the little dragon. He was so cute, in between the princess dress he was currently wearing and his slumped over body. "If nothing else, can you at least agree to work with me?"

Silence fell over Madame's head, her debating the offer. Sure, that sounded great and all. But why should she care. It was just a little drag-

"Mommy? Here?" Bubbles mumbled, catching the thief by surprise. The possibility he was an orphan hadn't come to her, could that really be the case? They couldn't think of the last time they had seen a dragon. Was Bubbles really only dragon he- "Princess?"

Eyes fluttering open, the little dragon turned his attention to Madame. A smile followed, culminating in a hug. Madame let him go through with it. Felt quite nice. Especially in the face of all that had occurred today. A bright spot in a sky full of gray clouds. Even if that did get them a mental groan from their other half.

"Yes, it's me." they greeted, getting a look from Bubbles. "Something wrong?"

Bubbles reached out for Madame's face, giving it a slight tap. The thief stood still for the moment. Didn't want to hurt her friend. Okay. That was pushing it to an extent. But if this worked, maybe then both parts could come together at least on this front. If not, more drastic measures would need to be taken. Measures that they doubted either of them would like.

"Princess, not better?"

If there was anything that both parts could agree in that one moment, was that Bubbles was far sharper than he looked. Fluke or not, he was right on the money. No use in beating around the bush in this moment. Only make things worse. So the thief took a deep breath and shifted her sitting position. That way, her gaze couldn't fixate as much on her currently ruined dress.

"Part of me wants to hurt you, Bubbles." Madame explained, finding the little dragon's gaze on her once more. Even fiercer than one would think such a creature could really manage. "Try as I might to keep 'her' under control, she still takes hold."

Bubbles's look softened, taking the time to give his friend a slight pat to the back. While he couldn't quite imagine what Madame was going through at the moment, the little dragon was willing to give his all to help her out here.

"Compromise?" he parroted, Madame getting a mental glare from 'her'. Of course there would be a tantrum in response to the idea.

"Cheater." she thought, mental deep breath following that. She was not going to let them win this battle. Or this war for that matter. It would be her who would keep control of this body. But try as she might to take hold once more, "Let me in!"  
"You didn't ask nicely." they thought, splitting their focus between Bubbles and her for the moment. "If you really want me to share, you need to at least act like a team player."

The word echo about the thief's head, refusing to let go. Everyone kept telling her that like it was an answer to some arcane mystery. Sure as fuck wasn't. She clearly knew that, but chose to ignore the sentiment. What use was their in helping others when they were rarely if ever willing to help her back in return? Well, that was her philosophy at least. In practice, she was adamant about not changing on that policy. The world isn't some static place though, things constantly changing for reasons beyond our control. Standing tight against it, her policy was beginning to crumble in the face of this newest job on her list - chosen. No real description, just a strange bracelet and mole with the strangest speech pattern around. One would think it would be the simplest job ever. In practice, that was far different story. So many different variables at work, all of which could react to one another at random with unpredictable results.

"What's in it for me?" she thought, realizing right after how obvious the answer in this situation was. "You brought with you quite a strange strat-"

Without any prompting or real warning, Bubbles decided to wrap his arms around the thief for a massive hug.

"Fine." she thought, feeling the little dragon let go mere moments later. "I'm willing to help you. That might change later down the road."

Inside, Madame chuckled. As weird of a victory this had become, they were going to take it. Would be quite rude of them to just pass this up.

"Deal." they thought, a big rush of relief coming over them in that moment. As feelings went, there was nothing else like it in her life so far. So she let her attention focus on her companion at the moment. Hopefully, they would be able to complete the mission she had in mind for them.

"Bubbles, I need you to take Phusitmon and attempt to get through some of the boarded up sections in the mansion." she explained, Bubbles giving a nod as he stood up. "Knowing Marigold, she probably already snitched that I headed back here."

Watching the little dragon head off, Madame let a smile form on her face. Standing back up, they made the short journey towards their dressing room. The last time they had actually changed eluded them, switching between dress and jumpsuit not really counting in that regard. That was more changing the form of the outfit itself in the hopes of minimizing suspicion she could bring on themselves. More of a fool's errand in this town with this sort of reputation. But that was discounting her former hidden hideout. A place that was far less secure than it was supposed to be. Maybe that was the result of time passing by without a second thought for that sort of thing. Who can really say here.

"No." she thought, shaking her head as they entered the dressing room. Inside, the room looked unchanged from the previous visit. If you don't count Bubbles taking one of the dresses to wear as a change (I personally don't).

Closing the door behind them, Madame shifted her focus to the dresses. Whatever they picked would need to be good enough for the Artisan. While his personal style was nowhere near their level (got first-hand proof of that fact), they needed to look their best for this meeting. Especially with this being the perfect chance to nip him in the bud. Or at least, drop him down a couple notches. Created a lot of work wouldn't have been necessary had he chosen to not destroy the alleyways. But hindsight is 20/20 on these things. What's done is done and now we need to head forward with one's life. Continued pondering won't get much done.

"How about this one?" they thought, holding out a pink dress. The groan coming from within said it all. Definitely not that one. Next was a cream-colored one lacking in the way of frills or 'fluff' you would normally associate with such garments. "This?"

A sigh came this time. Step in the right direction? Yeah, let's go with that for the moment. Especially as Madame pulled out a pale white dress. While nothing audible seemed to come with it, she slipped out of her ruined dress and into the unenchanted garment.

"Much better." she thought, smile returning to her face for the briefest of moments. Things might just work out here. Who would've thought that?

* * *

Notes:

Sorry about this taking a bit longer than usual. Holidays and working on out the sneak preview kind of dragged things on.

.

Next Time: Catching up with Ella. Because I totally didn't forget she existed. Not one bit.


	27. Yesterday's News, Today's Problems

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Ella was used to the strange sights. She was an innkeeper after all. But after the flooding of orcs and succubi from Aldia's alleyways, seeing Yvonne carrying what the artificer could only assume to be her girlfriend was not what she was expecting. Well sure, she knew a handful of elves. But none of those ones dressed like they were some sort of performer. Well, if you didn't count that one straggler who accidentally hurt himself attempting to match Blaze's moves. That was an awful day for everyone who was involved. But that was a couple years ago and she doubted he remembered that. Though, she wasn't sure what had prompted her to remember in the first place. Heads are funny in that regard.

"Uh… Sorry about the increase in customers." Yvonne greeted, taking a deep breath. Munbimon jumped down, which brought forth Cinemon. "According to Blaze, Madame had a bit of a tantrum yesterday. Do you think you can come with me to go grab her?"

Ella was gone by the time that Yvonne had even finished her sentence. For a dwarf, she's far faster than she looks to be. A skill that's handy for moving and deploying turrets. Not sure how that factors into running an inn. Maybe cleaning? Guess I can see that to an extent.

Coming back moments later, trenchcoat and briefcase in hand. Cinemon did let out a chuckle. After, he made his way over to the door. There it was a simple matter of flipping the open sign to closed. Even though there's a large crowd of orcs and succubi laying about the lobby. Content as they may be for the moment with their current living situation, something more permanent is definitely needed. Whether or not that'll take the form of the alleyways being completely rebuilt, more buildings or something else entirely remains to be seen.

"I'm ready." she announced, trying her best to look up towards Yvonne. When that didn't work, her focus shifted to Munbimon for the moment. "What's the story of the girl?"

Yvonne let out a chuckle. Shifting the position of her precious cargo, she took the time to kneel down. Still quite a height difference between the two. Trying laying down next time? Actually, scratch that. Probably expend too much effort for the sake of being at eye level or something.

"Girlfriend." the barbarian explained, getting a slight tap from Marulyn. Didn't really hurt. Even if it had, she would've needed to punch through the armor. Can't really think of many people capable of doing that. "She's in very big trouble with me at the moment."

A shrug, followed by a sigh. Guess someone doesn't agree with that fact. It's always good to at least ask for permission before committing to what could possibly be a permanent change to a living humanoid - orc in this case. But I digress.

"If nothing else, you need to eat." Yvonne continued, looking to part of her tribe for the moment. They looked to be paying attention kinda. More of in a passive sort of way. A variety of ragged clothes on full display, this is just their current normal. Could be better. It can possibly be worse. Something something quote about fife. "That goes to the rest of you as well."

Her people gave a nod, Ella returning her focus back to Yvonne. The daughter of chieftain at work. Quite amazing to watch. Probably be even better if I was actually down there and stuff.

"What did she do, exactly?" the artificer remarked and watched her teammate sigh, shaking their passenger awake for the moment. No response. "Do you want me to wake her up?"

Yvonne shook her head and shot Munbimon a look. A nod followed as she stood back up for the moment. Guess we're hearing it from her at the moment.

"She decided to go ahead with the process of turning Yvonne into an animated suit of armor in response to the alleyways getting wrecked by the Artisan." Munbimon explained, Ella taking the time to give Yvonne's leg a slight punch. Turret too much work for you at the moment? Or perhaps she didn't want to go through the trouble of setting up right. Especially with other more critical situations going on at the moment. "Didn't even ask or anything."

Cinemon's focus shifted to Marulyn, the barbarian and her partner heading off. So they followed right behind. While first viewings did suggest someone magical, he at least thought they would ask for permission first.

"Does she have your permission now, Yvonne?" the dog feline digimon inquired, getting a sigh from Yvonne in return. Then a giggle from her passenger.

"I do now!" Marulyn announced, feeling a slight kick from her girlfriend. Nothing too painful for the mage. Or if it was, she wasn't exactly showing it to anyone. "Well, I think I do at least."

Ella chuckled, shooting Yvonne a glance. Tempting as it may be to go off on the barbarian, she had a feeling that she had a lot on their plate. In between being the heir to this tribe, there was the matter of making sure that everything went smoothly and all the needs of her people were met. Sure, the second and third parts were a lot easier now than they used to be.

"It would've been nice of you to at least send me a message saying that I would get a whole bunch of your people at my establishment." the artificer explained, gaze almost a glare at the moment. Not her intention, just what it looks like in this moment. Especially with how often she seemed to be out of the loop on all of this. Considering that Blaze and company passed by the black cat inn yesterday, there's absolutely no reason our barbarian here couldn't tell her. Oh wait. It was getting pretty late and she didn't find out until after it had gone down.

"Sorry about that." Yvonne remarked, following it up with a deep breath. Probably came to the same solution as well. Wouldn't surprise me here. "Also, the town's down a clothing store."  
Compared to the alleyways, that's less of a pill to swallow. Doesn't stop Ella's glance from getting sharper for the moment.

"And how exactly did that happen?" the artificer continued, taking the time to pet Cinemon. He accepted the gesture. Though, the dog feline digimon wasn't quite sure what he had done to earn that. He was being a good listener. Has to be. Maybe a good fish or even would make this day even better. Oh right. Still can't hear me. My mistake.

"Artisan. Again." Yvonne continued, Blaze and Balamon joining our little crew for the moment. Refreshed at first glance, there's definitely something on his mind at the moment. "Hi Blaze."

"Hi Yvonne, Ella." the dancer greeted, getting a wave from the artificer in return. "I'm guessing you heard what happened with Madame last night?"

Ella shook her head. This was getting absolutely silly. How many different events occur right under her nose without a word from her teammates. So she took a deep breath and let her gaze split it's attention between the two chosen. Looked to have got the message. But only time will really tell us how effective it truly was here. But I digress.

"Just keep me in the loop next time." she remarked, focusing back on Yvonne. "So what exactly happened at this clothing store?"

Blaze let out a nervous chuckle, getting a look from Cinemon in return. Oh yeah. That incident. Or would it be a series of incidents, counting the part that came after exiting the store where Carinamon had that tantrum and called me a bag of dicks. Which I still proudly wear as a title. At least till someone suggests far better one for me. That sort of thing I'm flexible with. What isn't, is my duties. This war be damned. Currently, everyone is holding down in the catacombs. Hasn't been the easiest thing in the world, but it'll work for the moment. Least till we can find some place that isn't in the middle of a battlefield currently. Easier said than done, I know. But we'll get there eventually. If not, it's nice knowing you people. Or at least, the impression that I do to at least someone out there. Oh sorry. I got off-topic. My mistake. There's quite a lot going on at the moment.

Back with our heroes, the Shaky Walls Cafe has finally come into view. Though I get the feeling that this isn't the end of our walking for the moment. Nonetheless, our trio and their partners pass through the door and take in the small bit of carnage from earlier. Well, at least what remains of the bowl and the cold soup.

"Welcome to the Shaky Walls Cafe." Marigold greeted, deep breath coming right after. "If you're looking for your friend, she threw a tantrum and headed back to her mansion."

Then it was over to Marulyn. Walking over to her daughter, it was now her turn to play the game of piggyback. Still not sure what that has to do with pigs.

"Let me guess." the waitress continued, "Forgot to ask for someone's permission and wanted to do something big?"

Yvonne nodded, looking away at the last second. Even after taking the time to grab her girlfriend, making sure she didn't escape on her and go and grab Ella, she hadn't come up with an explanation for what Marulyn wanted to do. How exactly do you tell a woman that yes, you're totally fine with her daughter turning you into a living suit of armor. It's just that you would've preferred if she had actually gotten your permission beforehand. Sure, it's one thing to

"Kinda…" Yvonne started, trying her best to focus. "Marulyn got a little bit ahead of herself in regards to her and I's future. She's also hasn't eaten anything in the last couple days."

Marulyn turned her attention to her daughter. Not even giving her a chance to really defend herself for her actions, she sits the mage down at one of the tables. Though, the snickering coming from the kitchen was less than helpful.

"I'll take it from here." Marulyn continued, patting Yvonne on the shoulder. "Since you're heading for that mansion, I just hope you understand that I'm not a perfect parent."

Our heroes' glances shifted over to waitress, confused by what she was talking. Even more so when she began pushing them out of the restaurant. At least get them some drinks or something. Maybe even a breakfast snack. Those such things should exist. Right? Or am I just imagining it in the hopes that someone would come up with it. A mix of both maybe?

"Well that was odd." Ella muttered, catching Yvonne's gaze on the door. A waving Marulyn could just be made out within. Yvonne made sure to wave back. "You have any idea what she's talking about, Yvonne?"

The barbarian shook her head, focusing back on her teammates. While it was possible Marigold was talking about Marulyn in that moment, she had a feeling that wasn't the case. If so, then what exactly could she be referring to here? Madame? Sure, she seemed to have some idea on what was up with the thief. But was there a relation of sorts there? If so, how did it fit into the grand scheme of things of Aldia.

"Whatever it is, we're probably going to find out." Ella muttered, getting a look from her partner. "What? This is how these mysteries usually go."

Cinemon shook his head. On paper, that line of thinking made perfect sense. There's always a clear line for good and evil. A line that's always crystal clear. Out in the real world, that line far less clear. People like Madame - who could somehow be on both sides which flew in the face of someone like the Artisan. More hilariously evil than actually threatening, up until he got destructive. Doesn't change the problem with that line of thinking though.

"While I'm not sure how many books you've read..." he started, only to find the world of Aldia fade from his vision. Instead, he finds himself in a large room. People have gathered about with a man towards the far end of the room. He has a small hammer. Which automatically makes them the most important person in this room. After all, who would you trust? Some person who shouts things at the top of their lungs? Or the person with a piece of wood they get to slam on down. Personally, I would go with the latter. But that's just me, personally. I wouldn't mind having one of those on hand when someone does something incredibly stupid. Not to use on them, but on the nearby scenery, maybe a skeleton. They seem like they wouldn't take too kindly to that. Or maybe they would. My students and I are currently disturbing their rest grounds. But I digress.

For the moment, everyone is either scribing down notes or looking about the room. Wonder what exactly they're doing at the moment. Waiting on someone. Seems like a meeting of sorts, for what though? The fate of someone? Maybe. I can't really think of many other things that you could do here. Maybe have a party of some kind?

Cinemon opened his mouth, only to find himself back in Aldia once more. Munbimon was right on him for the moment.

"Something wrong?" Munbimon remarked, the feline dog digimon nodding. Much like Yvonne earlier, how exactly was he going to explain this? You just can't tell someone that yeah, you totally had a flashback to what might've been a past life. Actually, that's probably the best way to describe it right now. Yesterday's memory, today's problem. Something like that would work well as a title. Not that I can control that. I wouldn't have any if it was my choice.

"Remembered something that I don't think I was supposed to. Maybe." Cinemon answered, finding the ghost monkey on him. Didn't feel half bad. Once you beyond the fact that you can see through her most of the time but was somehow solid. Wait. We've already gone over this. So don't mind me.

With Madame's Mansion now coming into view, it would seem that our heroes would not be alone for this excursion. As the Artisan has decided that now was the moment he was going to appear. Wonderful. Absolutely flipping wonderful. Because we need him right at this fucking moment.

"You can just shut it." Rantha announced, flipping the bird at the moment. Which judging by the approaching heroes at the moment, is definitely not what you had in mind. Oops. "Piece of absolute shit. You fucking tricked me."  
If anything, this was your choice to act this way. I have nothing to do with this at the moment. Blaming me will get you nothing in the end.

Nonetheless, the Artisan's gaze shifts away from our heroes at the moment. Instead, he comes upon his companion. This would be her first battle as a member of Distant Harmony. She had quite high expectations to uphold. Especially since he didn't tell his boss this was part of his plan. Which is step one in how to piss your superiors off.

"Wu Jen, I need you to keep them distracted while I deal with their friend." he announced, heading for the door. "Uh… Just stall with your lantern thing and sickle."

His companion glanced out towards the oncoming horde. All of which had their weapons drawn out and infusion powers at the ready. Could she really do this? If not, they would just walk all over her. Which sounded quite nice. Fuck. She's actually thinking about it now. It's a figure of speech! Can't make this stuff up, I tell you. Get your head out of the gutter, miss. It'll help your chances in the long run. I think at least.

"None shall um… Pass!"

Waving her sickle about, the air around our Wu Jen converged into what appeared to be an icy spike of sorts. Shooting it out, the projectile looks to be heading right towards Yvonne at the moment. While a clean hit, it's clear that this isn't going to be a nice meet and greet. Oh well.

"Hi?" Yvonne added, Munbimon jumping from her shoulder and making a beeline towards their opponent. "We kind of need to get through the-"

Concentrating for a moment, a field of ice spikes formed around Melody. Guess that's the answer. That's good and all, except for the fact we have someone who has fire powers. Oops.

"As order by the Artisan, I, the Wu Jen will uh… make sure you don't get in!" she added, trying to sound threatening. Maybe trying shaking your fist in such a way that it seem thr-

"Infuse!" Yvonne announced, gray outline forming around her body. "Spirit!"

Warhammer pulled back, the barbarian let her gaze shift to the opponent. A throw followed. Then it's over to her teammates. At the moment, both Blaze and Balamon was in the process of infusing - while Ella had her turret out and at the ready. As for the other digimon, they were already hard at work charging for their opponent. Hopefully, they could make short work of them and then get into the manor proper.

* * *

Notes:

Kind of a filler chapter, but necessary for the sake of Ella to be caught up to speed with everything that's occurred in the last couple days. Though, I suspect she'll be getting more of a stage going forward. ;)

.

Next Time: We head inside... For a bone-smashing good time.


	28. Rantha's no good, horrible, very bad day

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Had the strangest dream last night. I was standing in the ruins of my academy and there was this pretty succubus. Married too, maybe a goddess of some kind? A bunch of strange people and all our heroes here with all sorts of wonderful places too. Which I can't remember. Fuck. Wait. why can I remember that I can't remember? Eh oh well. On with the story.

Rantha was used to nice places.

Whenever he had a little extra gold during his time as a 'shopkeeper' and the day had finally came to an end, he would go and see a show at the local inn. Comedy, dancing - even some variety acts. Never can say no to the sheperd's dancing goats. When they're not running around and causing trouble for the audience. But Madame's mansion was on a whole different level for the Artisan. Compared to that place, there was something… overdone about all of this. All flash, but little in the way of substance. Like someone was going through the motions of the mansion. Just the initial look though. He would need to go further in before really giving his full review. If any. Or would that be a full-on destruction. Probably both.

"Does it really matter right now?" the Artisan muttered, trying his best to not focus on me. He wasn't too successful on that. Yet, he slipped his coat onto a nearby coat rack. Which lets us see his suit for the moment. Still think it's a bit too nice for a place like this. I would've stuck with your regular clothes No comment. Which I guess is a nice change of pace. Or a false positive of sorts. Maybe both.

Heading up the stairs two at a time, Rantha's attention locked-on to the boarded-up section. While the sound of someone scampering had caught his attention, it was probably just a r-

Or not, since he just pulled out a clump of something and flung it towards the barricade. A little excessive. Especially considering that this is supposed to be a tea date of some kind. Not breaking and entering someone's home. That's a big difference. Which I think you should know. Yet, the scampering continued.

"Hi!" Bubbles announced, but thankfully not visible. With what I suspect is about to happen next, was probably for the best. Call it a gift, or just see it as how predictable some people can be.

"Where is my partner?" Rantha screeched, hands slamming their way through the hole and made it even bigger. Which just made our view of the little dragon even bigger at the moment. Also made where he was even clearer. Blank gray walls littered with cracks and holes held this part of the mansion in from the general public, with a tile floor that has definitely seen far better days in the past. Someone definitely died in this general area. The how and why elude us within this darkness. Shame that lantern moth thing isn't here. That would be quite handy to have in this moment. "Shut it."

Not even going to go through this song and dance. This is my job. Like me, hate me, I don't really care. I'm just the narrator here. Nothing more, nothing less. Sorry to disappoint you there.

Rantha still flipped the bird, focus shifting towards Bubbles. Phusitmon could just be made out, bubble already forming. Except, wouldn't it be more of a healing bubble at the moment? Has to be. There isn't much you can do unless Bubbles has somehow switched things around. Which is a possibility, but not absolute. What exactly is our plan here? If any at all.

"If I were you, I would leave those two to their business." a voice called out, Rantha swiveling around to meet it. Madame now stood before him in all their beauty, minus the hair. But that's just a formality. Kollmon was right behind, but there was no sign of Carinamon for the moment. "Now, I think it's time for t-"

A vial flew over the thief's head, coming quite close to a painting. Didn't make direct contact, but came surprisingly close to doing just that. The whip swung out in return, making direct contact with Rantha. Not enough to dissuade him from smashing even more through the barricade. Encouraged him was probably a better way of putting it right now. Like seriously, man. There are far better way of taking out your aggression than smashing your ha-

'Crack.'

Rantha bounced back, the color seeming to fade for the briefest of seconds. That can't be good. Though, the string of swears echoing out from our opponent's mouth were just the cherry on top of this mess for the moment.

"You dumb fuck!" Rantha screeched, pain and agony surging through his body for the moment. Why did his luck had to run out in this particular moment? He would easily take getting set on fire by Ingo's floor than this - both hands smashed against boards that were far harder than they appear at first glance. Definitely going to need have that repaired by a healer. If you're bosses actually employ one. They have to, right? That's a benefit I and the rest of faculty get. Or does Distant Harmony not really care for its employees? Actually, don't answer that. "This is your fault!"

Madame shot him a look. Whip now hanging to her dress, it bobbed from side-to-side. As for her partner, she was already heading to intercept this would-be attacker. Looked kind of angry for the moment. I would probably be too if my master just showed up acting all different. Though, it could just be that she wanted to sleep in a bit longer.

"You like, better treat me better for this." the mole digimon muttered, claws at the ready for this.

**Scratch!**

That's not very threatening of an attack. But when you break your hands, that could be the touch of cold or whatever the fuck that spell is supposed to actually called. Doesn't really matter right now. Especially with Madame swinging her whip that way once more.

"Didn't even feel it." Rantha muttered, handing flopping about. Kind of like sausages. Except with actual flesh and broken bones. So not tasty. Unless you were a cannibal. Had to kick out a chef for that. Personal favorite of both the faculty staff and the student body. Really hope it doesn't come to this. This is pretty much my first big job and it feels like I've just blown it. I hope not at least. Don't really have a way of judging my performance to what I can only assume to be my predecessor's. If they exist in the same space that I do. Sorry. Had to get that out of my system. I'm doing the best that I can do in this current moment.

"Now, let's see who's sits under there. Infuse." Madame remarked, stepping back as she knelt down. Shooting off into a full-on dash, seafoam green outline already forming around her small body. "Gale!"

Swinging her whip forward, the gust of wind that followed was a direct hit in Rantha's direction. Knocking her opponent down, Madame jumped on. So our current injury list is two broken hands and some bruising to the chest. Probably have one more injury before this ends. Just jinxed it, didn't I. Sorry about that?

The middle finger that I'm getting currently is sort of justified. Especially as our thief here made her way up to the head.

"Sorry about this." she remarked, grabbing hold of the strange bronze face covering the Artisan's head nearly the entire time we've known him. Okay, for our heroes at least. I've gotten to see the face under there. Sometimes, I wish there was something that I could do beyond give reassurement that things would work out. Enough angst from me though. Not helping this situation one bit. Pulling the mask away, the thief took a tumble back to the ground. Her whip wasn't doing any favors either. Bad whip. Bad! "You would think they would at least label these things."

Dropping the face guard to the ground, her attention shifted back to Rantha. While there was a chance of the Artisan of actually going for a counterattack, there really wasn't much that he could do. His feet were unlikely to be on the same

"Do you have a name at least?" Madame continued, getting the bird flipped her way. Is that the default option for when things go wrong for you. A one finger salute that doesn't have real meaning here. "If it helps, I'll tell you where your partner is if you tell me your name."

A groan, followed by Rantha sitting himself up for the moment. Everything in his head was telling him to stay strong, to ignore the request for the moment. But he was on the losing end of this bout. Carinamon could possibly be his only chance at turning this around. Especially with that little pipsqueak of a dragon and his rabbit nowhere in sight for the moment.

"Fine." he muttered, taking this particular moment to catch his breath. Then his focus is back on Madame. "Rantha. No fancy last name or anything. Now, where is my partner?"

A nod. Was kind of expecting some kind of dirty trick. But I guess this is not the case at the moment.

"Right above you." the thief answered and watched their opponent look up. There Carinamon hung, maid dress no longer on. Looked better with it on. But that's just me. Probably in the minority on that one here. Yet, the scorpion digimon dropped on down into his master's lap.

"Rantha, are you alright?"

Rantha shook his head, a groan leaving his mouth right after. The answer to that one is pretty obvious here. Makes asking it kind of redundant. Unless he didn't get to see all that had been done to his master here.

"Maybe once we get out of here." the artisan continued, pulling himself back up to his feet. The world seemed all shaky. While there was a chance that they could get out, it was quickly disappearing on the pair. "It was nice to meet you. But I ha-"

Gust of wind met his knees, knocking Rantha down for the moment. Guess someone isn't done with you.

"I can't have someone like you running around all willy-nilly, destroying property without a second thought." Madame announced, the Artisan stuck his tongue out. "If nothing else, you could tell me why you and your cronies are so insistent on destroying the town my descendents helped build up?"

Rantha began to laugh. Which got a claw shoved by way of Kollmon. In between the mess that was her partner and now this, she had it up to here. Which was quite an impressive feat to accomplish today. That, or someone needs to work on their tolerance. Possibly a case of both.

"Like, what's so funny?" Koilmon countered, pulling her claw out for the moment. "Madame is not in the mood for your totally stupid games."

That just made Carinamon laugh for some reason. Kind of an awful sort of laugh, I might add. You're not really cut out for this. Are you? Maybe I can suggest an alternate job path of sorts. Maybe one of those traveling circuses is hiring.

"Shut it, you bag of dicks." the scorpion digimon announced, turning his focus to his partner right now. "Get up and grab that friend of yours."

Once more, Rantha pulled himself up. Before Madame had any real chance to knock him down for the moment, the Artisan bolted down the stairs and towards the door. His opponents followed right behind for the moment, trying their best to close the gap and prevent this escape attempt. Or at least stall him so their teammates could box the pair in. Yet, Rantha decided to just kick the door open. Well, he made an attempt at doing that. It was more pathetic than actually that impressive. Especially with those broken hands he's sporting for the moment. Yet, he managed to open what was the last obstacle in his way and push on through to the outside world.

Outside, the area surrounding the front door had turned into a battlefield. Ice spikes and fire littered the area, with electricity seeming to course through just about everything right now. For as much as our heroes had the advantage when it came to group size, Melody and 'Lumosmon' managed to hold their ground. Unless she had used some kind of trick in order to flip the odds in her favor. Considering who's side she is currently on, that wouldn't surprise me. Even then, it can't be more than a half hour at most that this fight has been going on. Kind of impressive the amount of destruction caused. Thankfully, none of it was directly on the Mansion. That would've probably sucked. Maybe. Kind of got the feeling the whole thing is going to be burned down in the future. Could be wrong here as well.

"Wu Jen, change of plans." Rantha announced, Melody's gaze shifting over to him for the moment. A nod, followed by the digging out of an oval-shaped device. So that's how they're able to get about so easily. Cheaters. The least you could do is pl-

Both Rantha and Melody found themselves knocked to the ground, the door blown wide open in the process. Quite impressive.

"Not so fast, dears." Madame announced, another gust of bringing the device over to her. Scooping it up off the ground, deep breath following as the thief slipped the device into her garment for the moment. That's uh… one way to do it. "Guess you'll have to play by our rules for the moment."

Rantha stood back up, fury filling his eyes as rage engulfed his mouth. How dare this 'whore' get the upper hand on him and Melody? This so unfair that he absolutely should start complaining about the fairness or spew other things. Yet, he grabbed hold of Melody's hand.

"Let's go." he muttered, Melody nodding. With that, they made their escape. Which looked more like the pair running off to the closest inn. Which meant that we're going to split up again.

"Ella, you're coming with me." Madame barked, a glare coming from the artificer. So much for playing well with others. Okay. It's probably too early to judge that particular avenue. "Sorry about this Yvonne."

Yvonne took a deep breath, attention shifting over to Ella for the moment. While she didn't like her thunder being taken like this, there really wasn't much in the way of time to really argue. Whatever Madame did, it was done now.

"Understood." Ella muttered, heading for the front door. Cinemon, Madame and Kollmon followed right behind, leaving our other two pairs to head after Rantha and Melody for the moment. Hopefully, they'll be able to catch up to them. "So what exactly are we doing?"

She got a sigh for that. Sure, it's expected that Madame probably wouldn't know what awaits inside the less used parts of her mansion. But it can't be all bad. Right? There has to be some good within those halls. But considering at least one person has possibly died in this place and that's within feet of the exit, it's unlikely this was a happy place. Let's get to work then.

* * *

Notes:

Bit of a shorter chapter this time around, getting the plot rolling even faster as we near the end of this arc. Believe it or not.

Also, the title of this chapter fits into the forty character limit for chapter titles. Yes. The bar does in fact go longer. I'm not sure why either.

.

Next Time: Can you hear me now?


	29. All the people I thought you were and the one you truly were

I don’t own digimon.

* * *

Back inside, the manor looked the same as ever. Though, expecting it to change in some meaningful way was absolutely crazy. Sure, there exists spells to mask traps and other pitfalls. But the manor’s scale would make such a feat difficult and not worth the cost of doing that.

Didn’t stop Ella from looking over every inch of the entrance area. While there have been no sign of any real traps or defense mechanisms, I can totally understand the reasoning for doing that though. Though, I don’t think that’s it. No, this is more of someone who’s interested in the place itself trying to find the little things. Especially that muttering coming after it. A possible fan of Madame. Wouldn’t that be a twist. Probably not this Madame. Though, I think that would be a bigger bombshell at the end of day. 

“The hole should be just up the stairs.” Madame explained, a few short deep breaths following that statement. Ella’s attention was already back on her for the moment. “You’re free to hate me for this.”

Ella’s hand met Madame’s face, knocking the thief’s head back at most - a couple centimeters. More than enough to get her message across in that short span of time.

“There’s so many things I think about you.” Ella continued, emotions surging through in one fell swoop. “When I was a kid, you were my fucking hero. I wanted to be like you! Whenever the holidays came around, I would actually send a letter of goodwill and cheer.”

Madame looked away. Inside, ‘she’ was bracing herself for this incoming storm that her teammate was about to bring forth upon. While they could probably handle it, there was a chance that they couldn’t.

“Now, you’re nothing more than a washed-out thief hanging onto their legacy. What an absolute joke.”

Heading up the stairs, it was now Madame’s turn for the slapping. Was a lot more effective here than Ella’s attempt. But that was probably more the result of the stairs than the actual face hit. Especially since our thief didn’t want to cause any harm to their teammate at the moment. Maybe before this strange compromise of theirs, but not right now. Better yet, how the heck were they going to explain that to them? Sure, the change of dress and what looked to be the start of new locks of hair. Or maybe this was the case of just being honest with them. Even if they don’t believe her/them, it’s good enough of a start. Then they could build something up from there. Whatever form that might take remains to be seen. 

“I’m sorry to hear you putting me on a pedestal that I couldn’t quite reach.” they mutter, the other part looking away within their head. This had not been what either of them had been expecting. While likely as it was this was not the same Madame, this was just another problem to be facing at the moment. “Any other regrets in regards to me and my failures?”

Ella took a deep breath. I have a pretty good idea where this is going. But I’ll give her a chance to say it outright.

“That you didn’t give me back that meteorite and all the other inventions you’ve stolen from me.” the artificer muttered, Cinemon shooting her a look at the moment. “What? That was all the material I brought back with me! My parents insisted that I took home something that at least resembled what a dwarf would want.”

Okay… Not quite sure that’s quite the best thing to gift upon your kid. Unless there was somehow a bunch of jewels in said rock. Though, you would still need to extract the gems out and then cut them for use in jewelry.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this, Ella. But what exactly is a dwarf?” Cinemon inquired, getting a sigh from their partner. 

“Well… we’re usually a subterranean species with a penchant for stonework, alcohol and mining.” Ella answered, gazing shifting away as our group reached the top of the stairs. Did give us a good view of that spot Rantha created earlier. Thankfully, it’s not sizzling for the moment. That would mean further structural damage. Which reminds me. Supposedly, the academy was going to do a ‘psionics’ course for this coming quarter. I’m not entirely what exactly that sort of 'mental' ability has to do with actual magic. Maybe one of the researchers found a connection between the two. Wait. Isn’t that kind of like Melody was doing earlier? No, that probably involved something similar but not quite the same as general psionic stuff. Probably wrong on that.

Taking a left, we come upon our destination. Bubbles and Phusitmon are nowhere to be found. Expected. Probably didn’t want to deal Rantha. He could use to learn some manners, maybe some calming techniques. Maybe then we wouldn’t be in this situation. Doubt it. 

“So, Bubbles is like down there?” Kollmon chimed, getting a nod from her partner at the moment. Then it’s over to the hole, claws meeting the boards. Unlike the last person who tried to make a dent in them, this went surprisingly better. Goes without saying though. Anything would be better than your own hands when it comes to wooden boards. “Is this like, big enough?”

The hole looked big enough for someone as tall as Yvonne to pass on through. Maybe in the future. Right now, it’s just our foursome. Which begs the question on how our little dragon made it through.

“Never thought I would ever enter this part of the mansion.” Madame thought, ‘she’ nodding in agreement. Not that they would really know. “You want to switch out?”

Their other half nodded, the reins handed over. Far smoother than one would think it would be. Don’t think that Cinemon or Kollmon noticed. Which isn’t even saying a thing about Ella. The death glare is losing its meaning real fast. Might want to change up your tactics. Though with all this dark space, actually getting anyone to see it would be an iss-

“Infuse,” Ella announced, yellow outline forming around her body. “Spark.”

Plopping her turret down, the artificer took the time to shift the weapon to a downwards angle. You know. Don’t want to destroy anything valuable. Especially if this 'something' was in some way related to the Madame that she looked up too in the past.

“Ever been in this particular part of your own home?” she continued, getting a deep breath from Madame. Then a head shake. “Wait. You’ve somehow stuck to the same two - three rooms for all this time?”

The thief looked away, getting a chuckle. Guess that turret is far quieter than you would think such a device would be. The more you know in that case.

“Am I really that predictable, dear?” Madame countered, getting a nod from Kollmon. Though, I swear I saw rosy red cheeks on Ella's face in those fleeting moments.“You’re not helping.”

Before either the mole or artificer could really fire back with something witty or smart, the pitter-patter of little feet heading towards the group at the moment forced them to a stop.

“Princess!”

Bubbles quickly made his approach, Phusitmon hanging on for dear life. Didn’t explain the piece of paper hanging lightly in his paws. Yeah. That’s what I’m sticking to for the moment. At least till I’m told otherwise.

Thankfully, Bubbles decided not to jump up into Madame’s arms for the moment. Her body probably couldn’t take it. Maybe. Instead, he came to a stop in front of her.

“Better now?” the little dragon remarked, getting a nod from his guardian as Ella snatched the paper off of Phusitmon. But not before smoothing it out. Just for legibility's sake.

_ To the esteemed Mr Traum, _

_ I have successfully infiltrated this supposed organization - ‘Distant Harmony’. For the moment, it would appear they are not a major threat to the goals of the Criasu Corp. But with their rapid development of world creation technology, it’s only a matter of time before they undercut George’s plan with one of their worlds and set everything on a tailspin. We can’t have that. Especially if ‘he’ is supposed to return to his time, are we absolutely certain that his return will coincide perfectly with our other variable? If not, things might not work out the way that we need them too. Perhaps a backup plan is in order? For now, I’m going to remain undercover as a lowly. _

_ May time be on our side, _

_ -Sako Izumi _

What… in the flying fucking is this? First off, who is this ‘Crisau Corp’? Some kind of secret organization with plans for a world? Has to be. But this Traum guy, he sounds like a big deal. Maybe some kind of management entity? Perhaps he’s the one who is the boss. No, that would be that George person. What sort of plan could be so great that it would require sending someone back in time. Probably something of great interest to stability and what I can only assume the life of all on that world. As for the person sending this letter, that’s a complete mystery to me. Researcher, maybe. For what. Ugh. All these unanswered questions. Good to keep in the back of your head in the hopes that they eventually get back to this. Hopefully.

“Where exactly did you two find this?” Ella inquired, Bubbles pointing further in. Not helpful whatsoever. “By any chance, did you see any large sacks?”

Bubbles nodded, heading off in the direction that he just came from. His teammates and their partners followed right behind, making sure that the turret was still with them. Should’ve hit some kind of light at this point. Are magic lights really that difficult? Can’t be. That’s basic predesignation stuff. Also, who decided that needed to be that’s spell name? You try remembering off your head, let alone trying to spell it out. Fuck. Another pun. Was doing so good as well. Sorry.

“Large sacks?” Madame remarked and got a look from Ella. A deep breath followed, hands meeting the thief’s back.

“You know, for letters?” Ella explained and watched Madame freeze up. “Hm… For supposedly being the ol-”

Madame pushed Ella to the ground, faces mere inches from each other in what little illumination they could get off from the turret’s firing right now. More than enough at the moment.

“I’m not her!” Madame shouted, trying her best to keep it together. The hits just keep coming. Try as one might to hold strong against all that may be thrown your way, no one is invincible. You can give off the impression of such a state, but that’s only skin deep. “If I truly were her, I would have remembered you and any letters you might have sent. But that person is long gone now, probably dead. I never was her. I’m just… me.”

Her words ring right on out, Ella just staring towards them. Both around the same size, it was unlikely that Madame could stay like this for mu-

Spoke too soon. Now, Madame sat comfortably on the artificer’s stomach.

“You idiot.” Ella muttered, slowly brushing her hand through what little of Madame’s hair had grown back since Bubbles had fixed the holes in her head. “You could’ve just told us. And don’t just say ‘we wouldn’t understand’. We’re a team damnit. We’ll have to work together through this, Maddie.”

Madame gave her a look, reaching for her face. She was kindly declined for the moment. Though, that was more testing the boundaries.

“Maddie?” Madame muttered, Ella’s cheeks turning red as the artificer looked away. “Only in private are you allowed to call me that. Deal?”

Ella nodded, helping her ‘girlfriend’ back up. Grabbing her turret, the pair make good time.

“You uh… alright?” Kollmon remarked and watched her partner shake their head. A chuckle followed. “Like, no?”

“I wouldn’t say alright is the right word in this situation.” Madame muttered, gaze doing it’s best to keep an eye on both Kollmon and Ella. “I’m one less person, which means I’m closer to actually being me. Progress.”

You’re still technically two people though. Oh right. Can’t hear me. Nevermind that thought for the moment.

“Princess, Ela?” Bubbles called out, the artificer and thief making their approach. Compared to all that we’ve been so far, this particular area appears to be lit up. Maybe the light from the windows. No, this is too bright. Looking around, we come upon a small possibly magical light. “Here.”

To the left of our little dragon, we have ourselves a desk. A body laid right in front of it, halfling of some kind. Dried blood surrounded them, along with stone of all things.

“Mother?” Madame remarked and tapped the skeleton. Nothing really happened. No sudden reanimation, just a regular old dead body. How… boring? Yeah. I’m going with that. Taking a deep breath, she let her focus turn to the desk itself. There had to be something, anything that could help in this search. “Bingo.”

Picking up a yellowed, almost tattered note the thief did a double take. Sure, she had her suspicions, but this was absolute proof. A hint at something greater going on in this town. Still, it felt as if she was grasping for straws.

_ Dear ‘Madame’, _

_ No means no. How many times must we tell you that for it to stick in your head? My wife and I moved on from this project for a reason. If anything, you’re the one stuck in the past. Don’t come running to us when you’re ‘miracle’ turns out not to be one after all. _

_ -Mary Gold _

Once more, Madame’s world seemed to flip right on her. This time though, it’s more angled than anything else. Yet compared to yesterday’s mind screw, this felt… expected. Like everything leading up to this one moment culminating in this revelation.

“Maddie, something wrong?” Ella remarked, watching her ‘girlfriend’ hand over the note. Giving it a quick once over, a deep breath followed. “Guess that explains her knowledge in regards to you.”

Madame nodded, turning her attention back to the desk. Maybe if they were careful they could find more information on what exactly ‘Marigold’ and her wife had been working on. Or would’ve, if the turret had not gone off and electrified the entire thing. Which somehow set something off inside the desk. That ignited all the papers held within. Well, fuck. That’s one lead that’s no longer able to be further deciphered.

“Dimensional Matrix awaits activation.” a strange metallic voice announced, forcing our heroes attention further into this strange hallway. Running as fast as their little feet could manage, we come upon the end of the line for this part of the room. Here, we find a large set of double doors. Before them, was a large set of double doors. Not quite bolted to a wall, they looked to be connected to a large sphere of spinning crystal 'plates' above. Off to the side, someone had gone through the trouble of scratching out six bracelet-looking symbols on the floor. Which can be viewed in the dainty light being given off. Which made the dead bodies littering the area all the more jarring. Not really clothed and lacking in the wound department, there's no real telling what happened to them. Probably ran out of food.

"Do you still have that device?" Ella remarked, Madame digging into her dress. Out came that strange oval-shaped device, pointed directly towards the door. The sound of someone locking up followed. Oh dear. That definitely wasn't the solution that this puzzle was looking for right now. Or perhaps this is just one small piece of the puzzle and more needed to be grab-

Wait. Why are you staring at the door? Did something happen when I blinked. Unless

"Person?" Bubbles called out, slowly approaching the door. "Bubbles!"

Uh… yeah. Your name is Bubbles. That isn't much of an arcane secret really. I've known that for quite a while now. As for something none of you might know, that would be my name - Mister Lore Mage.

"That's kind of an awful name." Madame remarked, even if her own first name was just as silly. "Eh. Mine at least sounds refin-"

A look from Elka brings an end to that. Aw. This was definitely not something I was expecting to come out of this outing. Though, I could say that a lot about this adventure so far. Not that I find this to be bad, mind you.

Oh. I guess it's now your turn to ask a question or two. Go on ahead. Just remember to grab your friends after this.

"Mister Lore Mage, what's your big deal?!" the artificer announced, any friendliness reserved for Madame all gone. Fair enough. This must probably feel like a complete and utter what the fuck moment. Believe me. It is. Though, I didn't think you would be so conflicted on your friend here. Before this, I thought you were completely against her. Guess the truth is a lot more complicated than it looks.

Ella took a deep breath. Looking towards the bodies of the fallen. If it helps, you can just think it. No need to say it outright. 

"I'm conflicted." She thought, Madame looking her way. "Part of me wants to do her in for all the stolen stuff, but part of me wants to know the why behind. Why does she try to be so unreachable, when in actuality they look so vulnerable."

Oh. Didn't think of it like that. I'll keep that in mind.for the future. As for your question, I'm the narrator. My job is to give context and commentary to your guys actions as a neutral third party of sorts. Considering how the past couple days have gone, I'm on your side all the way. Even if it doesn't seem like it at times. Have to be entertaining to an extent.

“Uderstod?” Bubbles remarked and pushed a body off to the side. Both Ella and Madame just nod. Good. We’re on the same page.

"So what's the plan now?" Ella remarked, Madame letting out a sigh. While they had no clue to where exactly their teammates are for the moment, they had found me of all people. Wait. I can look for you! This is a total win-win solution. I was going to have to narrate them anyhow. Okay, let me shift perspectives from this door and over to you. Hmm… they appear to be chasing Rantha and M- I mean Wu Jen over by your inn, Ella. If you get yourselves going, you might be able to close the distance. No guarantees of course. I'm not psychic or anything. Even if some wizards see that as a form of magic. For so-

Oh. They're gone. Let me shift my perspective back on them for the moment. Easy as pie. Currently, our trio is making their way back. Ella did box up her turret though. Far easier to carry that way. As for Madame, she had just come to a stop.

"Your turn." the thief thought, getting a nod from within. Probably the most normal thing in this whole chapter. "Phew."

Shooting off, they made sure to keep up the pace with both their 'girlfriend' and their digimon partner.

"Something wrong, Maddie?" Ella called out, Madame looking away. "Or is this the other part of you in control for the moment?"

The thief nodded, carefully grabbing hold of Ella's hand. 

"Yeah." they answer, equal parts embarrassment and joy on their face right now. Perhaps the expectation had been a rant of some kind. Entirely misplaced, but could also be an expectation of a better answer. "No. I don't know where your stolen inventions are."

The artificer rolled her eyes, deep breath coming right after. So much for that. Probably all in that secret place. But that's a search for some other day. Right now, getting to our teammates is what matters for the moment. Everything else can be handled after that.

* * *

Notes:

So this chapter kind of happened. Not that this is a bad thing, just not something that I usually plan to happen.

Though I will say, those three would be a cute family. ;)

.

Next Time: We run around! You run around! We all do the run run around!


	30. Burn it all down

I don't own digimon.

* * *

As tasks goes, chasing after your opponents isn't the worst thing in the world. Though, I could see someone getting mad at coming all that way to Madame's and having to run some more. Fair enough.

**Dust Kiss!**

Swooping down towards our fleeing pair, Munbimon managed to plop her lips on Melody. The Wu Jen didn't take too kindly to that gesture. Though, she doesn't look that bad of a kiss. Though, I'm not an expert on that. So she went for a swing of her sickle. Clipping the ghost monkey digimon's wings, a slight tap was their reward for the moment. Not at all the best retaliatory move you can go for here. Maybe a headbutt instead? Those usually work a heck of a lot better. Maybe that's why people are currently headbutting skeletons. You're wizards for fuck sake! You should have spells and magic weapons. Use them! Okay, let me show you how it's done. Eldritch blast, strike down my foes! Still got it. Haven't had to use that for a long time. Prefer not to really. I'm a narrator. not a 'fighter'. But I digress.

"Uh… Get away from me!" Melody shouted, going for another swing as Yvonne closed the gap. Swinging her warhammer back, the barbarian took care to not hit her partner or cause any real damage to her opponent. Can't really get answers out of someone who's skull has been bashed in now, can you? Yes yes, I know about the resurrection magic. Considering the level of magic present here, it wouldn't surprise me if such a spell was beyond that of most mages. Maybe Marulyn could be able to cast such a magic. Whether or not it would actually work is a whole different story.

Nonetheless, the warhammer does make contact with the target, knocking them off to the side. The moth lantern thing doesn't notice, choosing instead to float along around and stick to Rantha for the moment.

"Don't need a running commentary of everything bad that happens to me!" Rantha announced, shaking his fist at the air. Not sure what to tell you here. You're going to have to put up with it. But you already knew that. Doesn't really stop you from complaining. Could you at least try to fill the space with something else. I don't know, maybe some fun moments that may have happened to you and Carinamon. Heck. Maybe something about Melody. "Not he-"

Blaze's scimitar reached our artisan, setting fire to his suit. Ow. That makes it four wounds now. Has to be. At this rate, you'll need to slow yourself down. Even more when the dancer managed to skip up into the air and grab hold. Gravity did the rest of the work, bringing our Artisan down. Right as Melody was finally managing to catch up. Though, Lumosmon did notice she had fallen behind and had waited patiently for the Wu Jen to catch up. How nice of them.

"Why are you even running?" Blaze inquired, Balamon biting down into Rantha's ankle. "You're in no state to fight either of us. Let alone everyone for the moment."  
Rantha did his best attempt to point his middle finger towards Blaze. Feel kind of like a broken record in that regard. Especially as he bolted off and dumped his passenger to the group. All while Balamon hung on. Quite determined that snake is.

"I'm alright." Blaze muttered, standing back up as an ice spike came his way. Fiery blade makes quick work of that. Then it's over to Melody. "So you're the Artisan's friend?"

Melody doesn't respond, instead choosing to fire off another ice spike. This one is directed for Yvonne, but doesn't quite reach it's mark. Instead, it gets impaled in the street. Perfect for a nice hot day. Though, you probably be somewhere cool anyhow. Kind of like the mausoleum my students and I are in right now. With all these skeletons. That just keep coming. How many skeletons are in this freaking place.

"Uh… yeah! He let on this ship with a bunch of weird people." Melody answered, Yvonne's gaze already on her for the moment. Definitely not the best answer here. Not that one could really expect you to have a solid answer at this point. "Thanks strange voice in my head?"

Before either Yvonne, Blaze or even Munbimon could really ask for her to elaborate, bright flashes of light coursed across their vision. Ow. My eyes did not like that all, thank you very much.

"Crud." Yvonne muttered, feeling Munbimon take a seat on her shoulder for the moment. "You alright, Blaze?"

Blaze nodded, attention back on the street ahead. While they were losing this race for the moment, we appear to be nearing the Black Cat Inn of all places. Wait. Why do I feel like I've already said that before? Eh. Probably some weird case of deja vu or a memory spell gone wrong. Which can happen if you're not careful! And no, those aren't allowed on tests! Stop asking about them. I'm serious. Sorry. I just needed to get that out of my system for the moment. Back with our pair, we seem to be in the process of closing the gap.

**Carina Gale!**

A large tornado of air and poison swirled about the surrounding area, making for quite a challenge to avoid. Let alone pass for the moment.

"Come and get up, you bag of di-" Carinamon announced, getting cut off by a tail smack from Balamon. Focusing on the snake for the moment, he clicked his claws about. Oh! How threatening! Not really. It's mildly annoying, more than anything.

**Material Bite!**

Before our feathered scorpion digimon had a chance to continue his attack, Balamon bit down into his tail.

"Tastes disgusting." Balamon remarked, jumping off from the Artisan. Making a beeline for Blaze, he charged head-on for the tornado. The tornado won out here, flinging the snake digimon up into the air. Further salt was poured when the tornado disappeared right after. Didn't do much to impede Blaze and Yvonne's progress.

"Balamon?" Blaze called out, bending down for the moment. But Balamon wasn't there for the moment. No, he found himself in the middle of a lake. A boy was right in front of him - flailing about in the water. He's not going to make it. Not that the snake digimon understood that concept. If he pushed enough, maybe they could reach shallower waters. A fool's errand, even more so as the boy flails even harder right now. His skin is turning blue and bubbles are coming

"Balamon, you alright?"

Flushed back into reality, Balamon shifted about. He was now hanging to Blaze's shoulder, the Shaky Walls Cafe coming into view at this point.

"Yeah." the snake digimon remarked, gaze joining that of his partner's and Yvonne's. Sooner or later, they would need to wrangle their opponents back around. Or at least disable them in such a way that they could be brought back to Madame's manor. Or something along those lines.

"Oh! Yvonne!"

Yvonne stopped, sliding forward a couple feet. Of course Marulyn had to show back up at this moment. This was the one time that the elven mage didn't need to stick her nose into this me-

A lightning bolt shot forward down the street, striking the sickle and leading right into Melody. The Wu Jen dropped to the ground, providing the perfect opportunity for Blaze and Yvonne to grab her. Thank god for that. Even if that did provide Rantha the perfect opportunity to turn around. Oh my. Guess he finally got the idea.

"Thanks Marulyn." Yvonne remarked, watching her girlfriend's face blush as red as the cherries she always smelled like. Taking a deep breath, she muttered something to the ground. Yet, Marulyn gave a nod. Then it's back into the cafe itself.

"What did you tell her?" Blaze inquired, possibly looking for some kind of dating advice. The chuckle from his teammate brings an end to that. Especially when she slipped his scimitar back onto him. How nice of her to do that. Don't want a repeat of those last two incidents.

"It's a secret to everyone." the barbarian remarked, Rantha passing on by. Kind of impressive for a guy with two broken hands.

"Mr Rantha, aren't you going to rescue m-" Melody started, purple outline appearing around her teammate for the moment. Oh dear. Looks like someone is about to do something they might regret. Typical. Nice things must seem disposable.

"Corruption!" Rantha announced, the outline's intensity growing for the moment. Carinamon is currently giving him a look. Definitely not the expectation here. Definitely don't want to know what the actual expectation of our scorpion was in that moment. Maybe he thought Rantha would wait until his opponents were closer in the hopes of grabbing Melody back. But who can really say at this moment?

"What the hell are you doing?" Carinamon screeched, Rantha not even looking to him. Instead, the Artisan fumbled his way about his pockets. Eventually, what looks to be a little doll came out as the Black Cat Inn came into view. Fuck. I know exactly what he's about to do. Crap. This is the worst possible situation we could find ourselves in. "You do remember what happened last time when you used that thing. Right?"

Rantha didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he pulls the doll back to the best of his impaired abilities. Pain courses through his body once more, a reminder to get that all checked out. Yet he flings the doll into the doorway and watches it enter the building. Fuck. Ella isn't going to like any of this.

"Good to know." Rantha muttered, laughing at me. Just rude. Especially as our trio of Blaze, Yvonne and Melody approached. She doesn't look too happy.

"Rantha, what are you doing?" Melody remarked, the Artisan not even taking the time to really look her way. Though, the string of flashes coming from Lumosmon weren't helping at the moment. If you could figure out a better way to communicate, let us know.

"Going out." the Artisan muttered, purple gas flooding the Inn. "Go ahead and run in like you're all heroes. Make my job a lot fucking easier."

Yvonne took a deep breath, handing Melody off to Blaze. These were her people. If the Artisan so desperately wanted to gas all the orcs and succubi in the inn, she was going to make sure that at least some of them made it out alive.

"Sorry about this, Ella." she muttered and charged towards the Inn. but not before making sure her helmet was on. It was. Kind of forgot she had grabbed that back yesterday. No matter, especially with that swing of her warhammer. A clean hit, forcing the gas out. Which also means that the poison is now exiting the building. Oh dear. Might have wanted to keep that in place. You know, for later and stuff. As for the interior of the inn, everyone had definitely noticed Rantha's surprise. What a piece of shit. It's one thing to be destroying buildings like it's going out of style. It's another to poison people in the hopes of creating a disaster.

Inside, visibility is just awful. Everything is tinted green. Even more so with that helmet Yvonne has on right now. The shade is not even one of those good greens. If such a thing really existed.

"Is this everyone?" she called out, watching Orcs, succubi and a couple of elves file on out. All trying their best to prevent themselves from inhaling any of that gas. Though, that doesn't mean we're home free just yet. We have to make sure that there's no one in the adjacent rooms. Which was on top of finding that doll. Crazy how such a small object can do so much in the way of damages. Magic items are no joke in that regard.

"You idiot." a voice muttered, Ella of all people making her entrance. Oh right. I scryed on them back with those three. "If anyone should be in here, it should be me."

Yvonne's gaze shot over, a groan following it. Of course someone needed to show up at this exact moment. By the same token though, the barbarian was glad to have some backup in here. Especially someone who definitely knew the layout of the building.

"Anyone else in here?" she called out and watched turret fire erupt about. Hey! Be careful with that! You could hurt someone. Okay, that's probably pushing it for the moment.

"One more family at least." Ella remarked, looking about for this elusive doll. Before she had a chance to really look for it, laughter echoed on through from the outside. Fuck. Rantha's done something, hasn't he? "Now what?"

Bubbles was currently being held in the doorframe, mouth held open by Rantha's mouth. Asshole. Did you really need to go that far? There's already enough problems created with the doll and the poison gas. Complete and utter overkill.

Rantha just laughs. Really want to deck this guy right now. Don't think I'll get that chance. Would be in total violation of my duties as a narrator. Not something you want on your record. Believe me. If you have to leave a job, leave it on good terms. If you can't, have an exit strategy for when things do go wrong. You'll be a lot better for it. Well, that's what a co-worker told me at least. Not entirely sure if those sort of situations exist.

"Crap." Yvonne muttered and looked towards Bubbles. Even in this awful state, he still looked happy. Not that his face could manage much in the way of actual facial movements. No sign of Phusitmon though. Probably under Rantha's boot for the moment, knowing him. Can't quite let sleeping dogs lie, can he. Always having to push that boulder further towards that cliff edge. Nonetheless, our barbarian pulled her warhammer back. Only one real shot at this. Fail and you find yourselves with a dead teammate and a just enraged partner "Ella, you got this last family?"

Ella nodded, briefest of glances given to Yvonne as she charged towards Rantha. Then it's back to the door. A couple turret shots are all it takes, revealing what looks to be an orc couple engaging in what looks to be some pretty fun times. Pretty a-

Behind her, the sound of Yvonne's warhammer meets that of an object of some kind. Ow. That's what, five injuries now? Has to be. Though, it's possible one or two more injuries may have been inflicted while my focus was on these two. Yet, Bubbles dropped to the ground and our stray couple runs out. That should be all of them now. Which just leaves the dolly.

"Where is it, Artisan?" Blaze called out, voice reaching through to the inside. Doesn't tell me where he went. Guess the force of Yvonne's blow was far stronger than that of the other person's.

"I'll tell you if you hand me back my digivice." Rantha countered, a smile probably forming on his stupid, smug face. Because of course he did. What's more telling is the want for that stupid device over his own teammate. No honor among thieves. Kind of expected at this point with Distant Harmony. Does any part of that organization promote teamwork? You guys all look to implode. "Please shut up, you shitty voice and a half. I hope someone shanks you to death. There I fucking said it."  
I've got nothing in regards to answering that. Outside of the obvious question of 'what's a digivice?'. Is that the device Madame grabbed off of you earlier? Kind of a generic name to give it. Unless you're not the ones to name it in the first place. "If not, I'll just kick you all to death."

Yawn… Keep going. I'm sure you'll come up with something actually threatening for the moment. Doesn't help that the pair in the Inn has finally made their exit. None of them look too happy.

"What's in it for us?" Munbimon remarked, Rantha's gaze shifting over to Melody. Mask still on for the moment, she can already see where this is going. No honor among thieves. If any ever existed, such honor has left the building to be replaced with distrust. Or would it be destruction?

"You can have her." Rantha answered, finding his mystical device smashed into his groin. In response to that, our Artisan 'clapped' his hands together. A click echoes about the area. Fuck. That's not good. What is he going to do?

Fire erupts forth from the Black Cat Inn. Fuck. Guess that was bound to happen. Wait. I remember something. It was faint, but in my dream Ella mentioned something about Rantha destroying her Inn. Or maybe that's a false positive. Time will have the answer to that. Of course, to add further salt to this wound, he used this as his moment to teleport.

Yet, Madame's gaze shot over to Ella. Inside, 'her' had agreed to this. How the heck were they supposed to know that he would set the whole place on fire? A calculated risk, for better or worse.

"I'm sorry, Ella." they muttered and got a look. Then a slap. Doesn't look too hard of an attack. Did catch the rest of their teammates by surprise. Which is absolutely fair in that regard. You didn't see the mess of earlier. Though, I doubt you would believe it to be the case. Seems almost surreal for that matter. Coming from a guy who's seen some shit, that's probably saying something.

"They're like an 'item' now." Kollmon remarked, death glare from Madame blissfully ignored. After this mess, I don't really blame her. "I'm guessing you want to tell them the other thing?"

Ella's gaze joined that of Kollmon. Kind of put Madame on the spot there. Especially without much in the way of a notice.

"Enough, you two." Madame muttered, taking a seat on the path for the moment. One more deep breath followed. "While I look 'female', I'm not quite… female. Nor am I quite male either I think. Which is on top of my second personality in my head."

Silence fell over the area. Most of the occupants of the Inn had chosen to keep their distance from the still smouldering building at the moment. Which left just our heroes for the moment. All the better

"Sounds good by me." Blaze remarked, giving a nod right after. A similar story with Yvonne and somehow, Bubbles of all people. Guess he's far smarter than I give him credit. Maybe. Or he just followed the crowd. "Anything else?"

Ella cleared her throat. This was the big one. Guess I should get myself ready for more chatting. Actually, I should wait to see how things go. It might be another day. Possibly.

"We talked with a being through a door." the artificer explained, looking towards Melody and Lumosmon. At the moment, the Wu Jen was just standing there. Blaze probably set her down when Rantha was gassing the place. "We need six D-Ventures. Hopefully, Ms Wu Jen here can help us."

The rest of the group focus in on her.

* * *

Notes:

Last chapter of the year. And it's a bit of a long one. Not as long as our previous chapter.

Though, Melody will eventually get Munbimon back. It won't be next chapter, probably the one after that. And yes, Madame just came out as Agender on top of the whole second personality. Just another day in Aldia.

Also, Merry Christmas. If it's not Christmas when you read this, Merry Not-Christmas.

.

Next time: Melody's backstory. Oh yeah!


	31. The Butterfly Effect

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Melody wasn't sure how to feel in this moment. In between Rantha's betrayal on top of selling her out to the enemy, her emotions felt like a swirling storm with no sign of letting up. Add in the gazes aimed right for her, the Wu Jen wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry herself to sleep. Though, she doubted they would let her do such a thing.

"Hi!" the little red thing in front of her greeted, small paw waving about as her gaze focused on the garment they were wearing - a glacial blue dress. Just the right size for them, making this creature stand out quite a bit from the rest of the group. Especially when compared to the plain white dress on the short person. Even if the tufts of white hair were a nice touch. Though, they seemed to have a scary-looking face for the moment, making them not very approachable.

"Hello?" she greeted back, an attempt to make herself as small as possible. Doesn't really work. "I have no name nor am I of any purpose to Distant Harmony!"

I do hope you realize that's only going to make you more suspicious? Now they want to know even more about you and you've opened yourself up to even more questions.

For the moment at least, her 'interrogators' inched slightly closer. Weapons currently at the side, perhaps they wish to go with a peaceful solution. Even as Melody knelt herself down. A sickle strike might be able to get herself some distance, but they would inevitably catch up to her.

"Do you want a name then?" someone - possibly the person in the tunic and pants inquired, gaze right on her moment. Look athletic at least. "We could give you one."  
Melody looked away, Lumosmon deciding to rest in her arms for the moment. Okay. Might not be the best time for that. Maybe you should be trying to rescue Melody at the moment. Wait. I don't think it understands me, which was the topic of a conversation last chapter. Sorry. I've had to marathon the last couple chapters. I had hoped to get some rest, but sleep seems to elude me and the other staff members right now. Skeletons have a way of doing that. Fuck them.

"How about your partner then?" a snake of all things adds and focused in on her partner. A bright flash is the greeting. She still wasn't sure what that meant right now. Possibly, 'hi'. Or perhaps, 'hello?' "Does he have a name?"

"Lumosmon." the Wu Jen croaked out, looking down towards her partner. She could already see the next question they had. "It came from a meteorite while I was floating about dimensional space, okay! I'm not sure why it chose me…"

The moment that 'Meteorite' came out of her mouth, a trenchcoat-clad person was right up in her face. Which just made Melody lean back in the hopes of gaining some bit of personal space for the moment. If any. Totally understand that feeling.

"Ella…" a woman remarked, putting a hand on trenchcoat's shoulder. A look follows, but there's a clear understanding right now. Some sort of couple? Maybe, but more of friends that aren't quite sure where life will take them at this particular moment. "You're freaking her out, which is going to make it harder to get anything conclusive out of her."

'Ella' nodded, taking a step back to join the rest of her teammates. Even with this increased space, Melody still raised her sickle towards them.

"Hey. We just want to understand what your deal is." an armor-clad humanoid announced, warhammer and helmet dropping to the ground. The strange ghost monkey thing grabbed hold, somehow managing to pull the weapon up and seat her head in the helmet for the moment. "We know that Distant Harmony is planning on destroying this place. Which is why some unknown force sent a meteorite down with these 'digimon' in order to help us for some reason. Anything that you can tell us on how you found your partner would be helpful."

Melody let out a sigh, eyes closing right after. She was currently these people's prisoner. All the cards were in their possession. Maybe it would be beneficial to swap notes. If nothing else, her own employers didn't seem keen on mounting a rescue mission for her.

"Okay… I'm not entirely sure what to start out with, but here goes." the Wu Jen explained and watched her captors take a seat.

.

We find ourselves in a land of intense rainbow colors. All of which look to be swirling about with little in the way of consistency or even pattern. Disorienting is the understatement of the year. I might need to find something to blind myself so that this stupid colors don't do it to me first. Okay, that's probably not the best idea in retrospect. Even more so now that some idiot has casted blindness on me. Not helpful. Give me a second… Okay, much better. Hopefully that didn't damage my eyes in some way that will bite me in the ass later down the road. Now, where were we? Right, flashback.

Our titular drow lays on what appears to be a floating mass of... something. Quite tiny, it appears to have fractured from what I can only assume a much larger landmass. No, this wouldn't have been a landmass. Maybe this is a piece of one of those 'spaceships' Rantha told me about the other day. Though, not entirely sure what they make them out of. That's the least of our worries though. Mostly because we seem to have movement for the moment.

"Ugh…" Melody muttered, looking about her surroundings. While I have no real clue on where she expected to find herself, but it's definitely not here. "Can anyone hear me?"

Her words get sucked up, never able to reach anyone with crucial message. Even if they could in that particular moment, the odds aren't in her favor. Yes, obviously Distant Harmony picks her up eventually. But that's a lucky chance. Something's bound to hap-

Out in the distance, a meteor heads on by. Though, it would seem that Melody's landmass was on a direct collision course with the rock. Oh dear. Two choices - maybe hitch a ride on the large rock or somehow shift it's course to somewhere else.

Our mystic focuses in on her target, eyes closing right after. Gathering her thoughts, the air around her cooling and condensing into an icy spike. Hanging in the air, it looks ready to meet whatever destiny it's creator has in store for it at the moment.

"Uh… sorry about this, big rock." she whispered and fired her icy projectile towards the rock. A direct hit, the trajectory changed. Along with the destinies of five other people in that one small moment. Crazy what can happen in an instant.

Thought that doesn't explain why part of the object flew off and landed right on Melody's platform. She did make sure to open her eyes. Which does make the double take that followed quite justified. "Thanks?"

The rock glowed for a brief moment, a series of long and short flashes coming right after. Wait. Is this how it communicates? If that turns out to be the case, I feel like an idiot for suggesting it to find a different method of communication. Sorry about that. Hopefully, you'll forgive me or something. This is a flashback. Not really much that I can do on that front. Maybe back in the present it'll matter. Sorry. I got off-topic again. My bad.

Yet, Melody gave the rock a slight rub. Nothing too hard. Don't want to break it any further than it already is for the moment. Not that it really mattered, with the egg shattering right before her eyes. A strange cross between a lantern and a large moth erupts forth, fluttering around their new owner for the moment. Even stranger, was the appearance of a choker around her neck. A choker that looked to be housing a D-Venture.

"Hi…" Melody greeted, deep breath exiting her lips. It hadn't been her intention to break the digi-egg. This was a happy little accident that the mystic was going to have to deal with for the moment. Especially with not having a real concrete idea on what's this creature's name was. They did look like a light. Maybe that's the best place to start here. "How about Lumos?"

The lantern moth thing flashed solid for a couple seconds, only to follow it up with a blinking flash. So right, but not quite? Or perhaps it's not long enough. So Melody took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Hopeful as she had been that would, the neutral reply had dampered her spirits.

"Lumosmon, maybe?" she continued, the response this time being a very long solid light. Guess they like it. Or, are willing to accept it for the moment. Either is an equally valid option right now in dimensional space. Especially with a 'spaceship' heading towards the pair for the moment. Slowing down for the moment, guess this will be our ticket out of here. "Hey! Someone's out here! Stop… please?"

Getting the general message of their partner, Lumosmon began flashing in all sorts of different patterns and colors. Which I can only assume that makes for quite a challenge on whoever is manning that thing. I can only hope their vision wasn't completely wrecked in the process of steering their way through. Nonetheless, the ship eventually comes to a stop a bit past the rock and what looks to be a side door comes on down. Rantha and six grunts file on out, taking in our pair.

"You alright?" the Artisan announced, getting a reluctant nod from the mystic at the moment. "Asking that because you're the only survivor we've found."

The words ring out and Melody's world justs stopped. Closing her eyes for the briefest of seconds, she can hear the last breaths of her companions. Her head hurts, the weight on her shoulders ever increasing.

"If it helps, we did find this." Rantha continued, handing Melody a mask. The same mask that currently sits on the Wu Jen face. "Welcome to Distant Harmony."

We find ourselves back in reality for the moment. Everyone except for Melody are standing up for the moment. For the moment, questions seem to swirl around them. Ignoring the obvious question about the whole 'spaceship' thing, this brought both questions and answers to the start of our journey.

"Wait. So does that mean the meteorite wasn't supposed to land down in Aldia then?" Blaze remarked, Balamon shaking his head.

"If anything, it's possible she cemented Aldia as the place where the meteorite would land on down."

The dancer nodded, gaze turning back to Melody for the moment. While it was clear that the story told was true, what was that voice he had heard. That hadn't happened with Dave. Who the heck was that other guy?

"Wait. I might have accidentally connected all of you to me while I was telling you what happened." Melody remarked, closing her eyes for what seems to be the third or fourth time in the past couple of minutes. Like a switch almost, my voice faded from their heads. Boo. Maybe I wanted to talk to all of them for the moment. But I can wait for the moment. "Though, I was heading home with everyone."

Getting a nod, the Wu Jen pulled her mask away. Golden eyes stare clearly out on our heroes, while faded blonde locks reached just to her waist for the moment. Could use a bit of styling.

Judging by the look I'm getting at the moment, you already knew that. Sorry about that. That sort of information is kind of hard to

"Could you tell us your name now?" Yvonne remarked, grabbing back hold of her warhammer for the moment.

"Melody." the mystic whispered, feeling Lumosmon exit her hands and float beside her for the moment. "While I'm not sure how much of a help that I can be for you guys (I guess I'm supposed to be your enemy), but I'll do the best I can."

A stomach rumble followed. To be fair, I don't think any of you had an actual breakfast. But that would be calling the kettle black. Fending off skeletons is hard work.

"Is there any place that I can get a meal?" Melody continued, getting a nod from Yvonne for the moment. Even if that did get the barbarian a look from Madame around the same time as our group headed off. "Since you now know my name, could you at least tell me your names?"

"Yvonne." Yvonne remarked, feeling Munbimon climb up her back. Though, you got to think she felt the handful of times that her helmet collided with her back. Didn't stop her pointing to her partner. "And this is Munbimon."

Munbimon gave a wave, getting a wave back from Melody in return. Then it's over to our thief and their mess.

"Madame." they announced, pulling Kollmon back over. Even if the mole does give them a stink eye of sorts "Kollmon."

"Like, I could've introduced myself!" Kollmon announced, letting out a sigh right after. "Uh… could you kneel down?"

Melody complied, getting down on her knees. Dang. That's a very pretty spiderweb pattern on your kimono. Do you have other kimonos, by any chance?

Head shake. Oh well. Guess I got my hopes up a little too high in that regard. Especially with the clothing shop iced over. Uh… I'll shut up for the moment.

Giving a nod and getting back up, our mystic's focus shifts over to Ella. The artificer's gaze was currently split between the burning wreckage of her business and their destination.

"Uh… Sorry about what happened with Rantha." Melody muttered, only for Ella to shake her head. A deep breath followed. Okay… Definitely not what I was expecting to happen here. Considering the emotions probably running through her head for the moment, that's the least of her problems right now.

"That fucker made his choice." Ella muttered, gaze snapping on over to our mystic for the moment. "If anything, you had nothing to do with the actions he took. Also, sorry about getting up in your space earlier. Not my intentions."

Melody nodded, taking the time to give the burning building one last glance. Then it's over to Cinemon.

"Cinemon." the feline dog digimon remarked, shooting his partner a glance. "Yes, she's always like that."

He got a stink eye for that remark, but paid it little mind. Especially as Melody's gaze turned to the last person she needed to greet for the moment. Which ironically, had been the first person to speak with her - Bubbles. Phusitmon too, but that kind of goes without saying. Carefully, she bent down and gave our little dragon a tap. While this did bring him to a stop, Bubbles didn't quite connect the dots on what was needed out of him. To be fair, most people approach him from the front.

"Wait. That's a he?" the mystic thought, quite confused in this particular moment. The dress must have thrown you off. Just as an FYI, Bubbles is a 'he' and Madame is a 'they'. Yes, I'm aware that this is technically cheating. Oh well. I'll take whatever punishment awaits. Understood."

It took a second poke from Phusitmon for Bubbles to turn around. Though, he did use this opportunity to jump up into Melody's arms. While the mystic accepted the gesture, she hadn't expected to be getting a hug now of all times. Get used to that. Though, that doesn't stop Melody from giving a hug of her own. Aww...

"Bubbles!" he announced, finding himself getting put down. "Phussiemon."

Not going to lie, you could have really phased that far better. But still an introduction of our pair, nonetheless. Especially as The Shaky Walls Cafe came into view. Time to make plans and get to the bottom of some of these mysteries dogging us today.

* * *

Notes:

Bit of a shorter chapter from the last two. The next one is over 5K, kind of works out. Yes, we're having digitalverse/neo digia style dimensional space. I'm allowed to have that carry through. Especially when the 'conspiracy' this time is technically 'canon'. Yeah. Who would of thought that.

.

Next Time: Making plans and getting to the bottom of things. Also, heading through the door...


	32. Decisions, Decisions

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Mari Gold knew this was bound to happen. Even as our heroes approached and the smoke from the now burning Black Cat Inn headed up for the sky, the time for secrets was making as fast of a getaway that could be managed at the moment. Not that the succubus or her elven wife were planning to do such a thing currently. No, they would be staying put and face down their crimes. Though, their daughter was currently back to sitting in her corner. Especially after running out to help her girlfriend with that Wu Jen character. Doesn't stop her from giving a wave to her girlfriend in the meantime. She does get herself a wave back. Even if there was not a single thank you for her intervening and cutting down what could have been quite a lengthy chase. Which will be immediately canceled out by the possible damage done by that shitty gas-spewing doll. That's more speculation than anything for the moment.

"Welcome to the Shaky Walls Cafe, what can I get fo-" Mari Gold remarked, feeling Madame's hand slam across her face. Quite impressive, considering the height difference between the two of them right now. Oh. Getting up onto Ella's shoulder. Classy. Well at least till she landed back down on solid ground. "I told you that this wasn't our fault."

Madame let out a sigh, trying their hardest to not go off on the waitress. In between being 'misled' earlier and the whole mess with that stupid goop, there's more than enough here to go. Yet, they grab hold of Ella's free hand for the moment.

"Better, Maddie?" the artificer whispered, getting a nod from their 'lover' in return. Probably going to need to work on that one. Following time they're near that matrix, maybe they could bring Dave along and help me brush up on the various phrases that can be used to describe these sorts of relationships. Oh well.

"Yeah." Madame answered, gaze back on Mari for the moment. A deep breath followed. The other part is trying to hold it all together, their thoughts speeding off in a million different directions. Totally fair in feeling that way right now. "So how far back does this mess go?"

Words ringing on out, the other half of this equation exited the kitchen - Mari's wife. Still not certain on her name though. You would think one of them would know her name. Or perhaps that is her name in the first place.

"That's hard to say." she remarked, stopping right in front of our thief for the moment. "How old are you, exactly?"

Madame looked away, the other part of them choosing to think it over. Ella had to be in her late twenties, early thirties at least. Ignoring stuff like their white hair and old dresses, they had to be at least in their mid forties. But shouldn't they know the answer to that? This had to be a trick question.

"43." they answer, getting a nod from the elf. Turning to Mari for the moment and ignoring the rest of our still standing heroes for the moment, mumblings of something followed. So the artificer and thief joined their companions, partners following right behind. Guess we're playing the waiting game right now. Gives me a chance to make sure everyone is alright.

"A couple hundred years at least." Mari answered, just one more brick in this strange wall that is Madame's legacy. With the string of which that has been these last couple chapters, starting to lose their punch. Or maybe it's just the appearance of Melody that's thrown everything on it's head for the moment. Now that I think about it, probably a mix of both. "Give or take a couple of attempts by the descendants of Miss Yvonne's tribe."  
Yvonne's gaze shot on over.

"It's Kirjaw." the barbarian answered, forcing me to take a couple minutes to sound that out to make sure that this combination of names actually works. It does, thankfully. Would be really concerned if that somehow didn't. But I digress. "Though, does the chieftain know about this?"  
Mari shook her head. Considering how long this scheme was going on, I'm more surprised someone didn't break and just tell them outright. Better than Distant Harmony in that regard. Not that it's saying much or really fair for that matter.

"Your call on whether or not you wish to tell her." the waitress continued and got a nod from Yvonne. Then it's over to Melody. While the mystic was listening along with everyone else, she was more intent on looking about the cafe. "I don't believe we met before. Are you new?"

Melody nodded, finding both Mari's wife and her daughter on her for the moment.

"Uh… Melody." she greeted, taking the time to shift her kimono slightly. "I'm a drow. I'm guessing you're elves then?"

The pair nod and rejoin Mari for the moment. Was kind of expecting something more out of that conversation. I'll take this as a nice, welcome surprise of sorts. Even if that does still leave a lot of questions for us. Especially with how Marulyn was looking towards Yvonne. More specifically, her armor.

"I just repaired this." she muttered, circling around her girlfriend a couple times for good measure. "The seams of your gauntlets are all corroded."

Yvonne took a deep breath and turned to Marulyn. The rest of her teammates chose this as their opportunity to take a seat at a picnic table. Not entirely sure why they waited as long as they did. Probably could've done that after

"I ran into a gas filled building to save the occupants." Yvonne answered, gauntlets getting her attention for the moment. Then it's right back to Marulyn. "Is this fixable at least?"

The mage looked towards the gauntlets, sigh following right after.

"Unless you don't want to remove those, you're going to need to find a new pair or have me forge you a set." Marulyn answered and got a nod from the barbarian. "I'm fine either way."

Carefully, she grabbed hold. While there was still time needed to think things over, that could wait in that moment. Even if it did look more like our barbarian's hand covering up the other hand.

"I'll get you the materials." Yvonne answered, breaking away from Marulyn and joining her friends at the table. A deep breath followed. Love is quite a complicated thing. Easy to break, hard to nurture. But when it truly works out, it absolutely does.

With everyone now seated, Mari's wife returned to the kitchen. Which just left the other two to pass out our menus.

"No goop." Madame muttered, getting a nod from the waitress. While not very hungry right now (they had some those little cookies and cakes you serve with tea), it provided an opportunity to see if they would respect their wishes or not. "Some dirt for Kollmon."

Kollmon nodded, pushing her menu up. Thankfully, Mari was able to grab hold and pick it up. Would've sucked otherwise.

"Sndwich?" Bubbles asked, getting a nod from Marulyn. Then it's over to Phusitmon. Even though he's a plush rabbit digimon. And no, I'm not going to make that same pun twice. I've learned my lesson. Hopefully.

"I'll take a soup." Blaze added, Balamon slithering up to the dancer's arm and grabbing hold. "Guess I'll be sharing then."

Balamon nodded and watched his partner hand the menu over. Then it's on Ella and Cinemon, the former appears to have chosen to sit with Madame.

"I'll be sharing with Madame." the artificer explained and gave Kollmon a slight pet. Then it was over to Cinemon to do the same. Though, I think the latter took it far better than the former did.

"If you have a bone, I'll take that." Cinemon announced, getting a nod from Mari. Then we're onto our barbarian.

"Salad." Yvonne remarked, getting a nod from Marulyn. "And to answer your question, maybe I'll give you a bite. I'm still thinking things over."

Marulyn nodded and found Melody of all people looking her way. I think this should be okay. If not, Yvonne can get in between and settle this. Hopefully.

"Yes, I'm her girlfriend." the mage remarked, eyes glimmering for the briefest of moments. Did go noticed by both our barbarian and her partner. The mystic just nodded. Though her attention is on Munbimon for the moment. Wonder what that could be about.

"Though, I do need to show someone a proper kiss." Melody remarked, setting Yvonne's helmet on the table and pulling Munbimon over. The lips of the ghost monkey met that of our mystic's. Doesn't look too horrible, but that has to be very, very awkward. Especially after her initial shyness. Thankfully, the pair eventually break away from each other.

"I'm not picky." the mystic explained, realizing right after what she had just done. Red cheeks on full display, Perfectly valid in our books. Okay, it's more my book but I'm going to assume you get the general idea. "How about you, Mr Mister?"

You put me right on the spot. Personally, I'm not the sort of person to be into the whole dating thing. Though, I do have some colleagues who are on the lookout for a special someone. They've kind of been striking out though. More of their fault than their dates. Sometimes, the expectation is to not talk about dissecting a body. Even if they might somehow be into that.

"He's not interested in anyone." Melody announced, summarizing the information told to her from within. Then it's over to the menu. Dang. You're making me hungry. We just had dinner. Wasn't that good. "I'll have a salad as well."

Lumosmon flashed white. I'll take it that they don't want anything. Outside of a light that isn't their own, maybe. Hey. I'm trying to get a better handle. Even if it has been a string of failures right now. You would think I would have some kind of success eventually. Guess not.

With that out of the way, our waitress and her daughter headed off for the kitchen. Which makes this the perfect time to talk strategy. Well, a plan for the coming. Quite a lot has happened and now is as good of time as any to decide.

"Well, we now have all six D-Ventures to activate that dimensional matrix." Ella remarked, Melody right smack in the middle of her vision at the moment. Quite popular today. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you and that Artisan guy get to Aldia?"  
Melody looked away. While I did have to cut away to go over Madame in a bowl of soup earlier, that 'space ship' was on solid ground for the moment. Which could just be a large rock or an entire world altogether. The former would suggest dimensional space, while the latter opens up all sorts of possibilities. Taking a deep breath, she let her focus be on the group as a whole.

"It was some strange city. People may have lived there at one time." the mystic explained, deep breath following her statement. "Everything looked frozen in time. People, animals. Even the water from what Rantha showed me."

What. So you're telling me that Distant Harmony went through all that trouble to head down to Aldia when there's a perfectly good world that defenseless to destroy. These people are idiots at times, but they can't be that dumb. Right? Unless this world isn't quite a world, but instead lies outside of the regular worlds or something. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Okay… Give me a second. Need to run this by a colleague. Sorry about this viewer.

…

Okay. I'm back. It's likely to be some kind of parallel universe. Anything else of note, Melody?

The mystic made a quick glance to the ceiling, then it's back on over to our heroes. Closing of eyes followed, minds being linked up. Easier that way.

Once more, we find ourselves in a flashback. This time, we can see the titular spaceship in this strange grayscale area. The area in question appears to be a park, with a strange cross between a treehouse and a shop on the one and only tree in the entire area. Though, that doesn't explain the metal golem staring towards them. While it pays little attention towards them, might want to keep an eye on that. Wouldn't want it to tear up your ship. Probably will, given the chance. Oh right. Flashback.

"Is it always like this?" Melody remarked, Rantha just shrugging. Good to see asshole here is ever the moody one for the moment. I'm not saying that to poke fun of him, just that his behavior seems to come in only one flavor for the moment.

"As far as I can tell, yes." the Artisan remarked, mask already on for the moment. Melody's doesn't appear to be at the moment. Though that probably depends on how far they can walk. "Probably some spell or wish that went horribly wrong."

The mystic's gaze swiveled about. As far as her vision was concerned, there looked to be no sign of either such effects. If anything, this looks more like the result of an artifact or a divine act by some deity or someone's patron. Though, there isn't anything really here to suggest such dark magics. So probably the latter.

Then it's right back to Rantha. Except our Artisan here has decided to just head on for the moment. Didn't even make some half-witty remark. Man, someone must be pissed for the moment. Or just doesn't want to talk. Does take the time to kick a crate out of the wall. Gray and drab like everything else, there looks to be a marking - 'Criasu'. Wait. That has to be the same one that's mentioned in that letter. Okay, they make those golems and… crates. Okay, that can't be all they make. But that's beyond the point. Since we've come upon our destination - wooden box with a second wooden box put on it. Someone has put some glass in that one. Though, someone had gone through the trouble of coming over. Only to be frozen. So much for that.

Nonetheless, Rantha fishes that device out. Looks to be the same that Madame grabbed off of him. Looking back, that could have lasted a bit longer. Maybe even grabbed a rock and try to pass it off for the device. No, that wouldn't work. May be dumb, but he's not a complete idiot. Well, I hope at least. Been proven wrong quite a lot recently. Kind of fine with that, really.

"Get your mask on." he barked, getting a nod from Melody. Slipping a hand into her kimono, the mask comes on out. Still pretty as ever. Sorry. I'll keep my mouth shut for the moment. Putting on this unique disguise, the Artisan held his device in front of the glass. Silence fell over the pair, only to be interrupted by a soft 'chime'. Not the sort of sound you would be expecting to come out from a possibly dangerous device. To answer the obvious question, I was thinking a 'beep' or even a 'boop'. Okay. That sounds kind of dumb now that I put that down. Sorry.

'_Opening Digi-port.'_

The screen glowed white as both bodies were pulled on through. Glass didn't break though. Some kind of magical gateway. Though, that doesn't explain the appearance though. We're in the middle of nowhere. There's no fucking way someone would really leave something like this without something guarding it. Perhaps that's the intention of the robot.

Nonetheless, we're flushed back into reality. Food isn't quite here yet. Though, if I can say just one thing - let this be your decision. You have everyone you need to just rush back towards the gate and chase after Rantha. Though, running off for what an adventure without telling anyone would be in pretty bad taste. Just food for thought.

My link to them fades after that. Kind of wish there was a better way to talk to them at times. Fuck. I'm getting attached. Which means something bad is bound to happen to them and I'll need to start anew. Actually, let's not think about that. Does little good for the moment.

Before this inner monologue of mine could really continue, Marulyn and Mari come back with the plates of food. Oh boy. We don't have any sign of goop. Rejoice. Things might be looking up today. Actually, this day is beyond salvaging. The fire at Ella's Inn kind of solidified that. My bad.

"Here's your food." they announce and set the plates down. Mari made her way back to the kitchen, while her daughter chose to stick it out. Mostly in the hopes of getting herself a bite from her girlfriend. Not that I'm jealous. Just even more hungry now. Only have myself to blame.

"At least you didn't get more of that goop." Ella remarked, both her and Madame focus shifting to their plate for the moment. Currently, what looks to be a steak of all things has been plated. Looks to have been cooked in such a way that it won't kill you. Even then, the odds are in your favor. Only had one person die by poisoning this year. I think. Not the sort of thing that's really reported. The only reason I know that, since we had a cannibal on the staff. Not the best looking thing in the world. Though here, they could've at least been given proper utensils. That's just common sense. So is not giving your customers goop. Can't even do that right at times. Doesn't stop our two 'ladies' from digging back into their finely cooked piece of meat.

"I'm fairly certain that my mom was serving you whatever build-up was in the stove." Marulyn remarked, both Madame and Ella's gazes right on her for the moment. Then it's right back to the steak for the moment. Glad to have that mystery solved, Maybe? Nonetheless, this was also Yvonne's cue to dig into her salad. Standard affair, even if she does have a set of eyes on it as well for the moment. The same set that just dropped that bombshell to be exact.

"Please tell me this isn't your first meal today." the barbarian muttered, girlfriend looking away. Even more so when there's a forkful of lettuce coming her way. What, you five or something?

"Maybe?" Marulyn remarked, eventually giving into the temptation and having her bite. "Twank yoou."

Yvonne took a deep breath. Tempting as it probably was to remind her girlfriend to not talk with her mouth open for the moment, the thought of an excursion to parts unknown took precedence for the moment. When was the last time this crazy elven girl had left her side? Had to be some time when the pair had been children. Seemed like forever ago, but there was only so much life left within 'old' barbarian.

Setting her fork down for the moment, a deep breath follows. No use in dwelling on the possibilities right now. Lot better to ask right now and take whatever answer she got. Easier that way. Especially when the person in question is right in front of you.

"Marulyn, would you be fine with me going with my friends on a trip?" Yvonne croaked out, our elven mage's gaze falling to the floor. Reaching out, her hand meets the barbarian's shoulder.

"As long as you bring me back the required materials, I'll be fine." she answered, choosing now as her moment to head for the kitchen. Well, that's one now.

"Ms Rirjaw, your girlfriend seems like a nice person." Melody remarked, Yvonne's face turning red for the moment. That's twice now. A third time and it might look like this is purposeful.

"She wants to use as a suit of armor." Yvonne answered, getting a look from the mystic for the moment. "Yes, I'm aware how weird that sounds. Believe me. We both want it, to an extent."  
I'm still debating whether or not one of them is crazy. Personally, their enthusiasm is quite infectious. Even if I'm not certain how exactly one would go about such a process really. Doesn't stop Blaze and Balamon from enjoying their soup. Looks to be some kind of beef soup, possibly to go with the steak that was prepared for our pair. No sign of any actual bones though. Guess there isn't anything left to give Cinemon. Maybe, it's sometimes hard to tell without moving my move. Especially since we're focusing on individual people for the moment. Back to the soup, Balamon was eating around the meat, taking what veggies he could get from the bowl of what is probably an absolutely divine broth. Could really use a snack at the mom- Oh. Thank you. Could've grabbed something myself, but this works just as well. Even if it just a single goodberry. Worst things to be munching on right now in the middle of the clearing out of the catacombs. Like the actual bones of a skeleton. It's not worth it, people. Maybe be like Bubbles and have a nice sandwich. Looks to be enjoying it quite a bit. Even if he is trying to eat it as refined as possible. Especially with that dress of his. Not a single stain on it. For now at least. Could easily change if he's not careful. Crud. Probably shouldn't even say that. My mistake. Which brings us finally to Melody for the moment. Getting a salad much like Yvonne, she's already finished the entire dish. Dang. While I would assume Distant Harmony at least fed you, but that's just crazy. Though, this could just be your first proper meal. So I'll cut some slack.

Melody let out a chuckle, our heroes gazes shifting over to her right now. Let me guess, this is somehow normal where you come from. Even if it is, this is still surprising for us.

"I'm kind of used to having little time to eat." the mystic admitted, setting her now empty plate with Bubbles's. That stack continued with Ella and Madame's, with Yvonne's following right behind. Which left Blaze and Balamon's soup bowl to top it all off. Didn't take too long for Mari to come back around and grab everything. "So, do we want to meet back up in a bit?"

Looking among each other, we get what appears to be nods. Great and all, but the question of where exactly to meet back up remained. Though I get the feeling that the answer to that is already crystal clear for our heroes. Making sure to pay for their meal, they get up from their seats and head for the exit. Then it's on their separate ways - Blaze and Balamon; Yvonne, Melody with their partners and Bubbles, Ella and Madame with their digimon. For the moment at least, we'll start from the top - Blaze and Balamon. Making a beeline for their home, our dancer's mind was running a mile a minute. How exactly would Dave react to such news? They didn't have any idea on how long they would be gone. Which was on top of leaving someone without much in the way of money or actual way to make money.

Yet, he took a deep breath as his home came into view. Dave was currently outside, no maid dress for the moment. Looking towards his boyfriend, he can tell something is up. Yet, the former grunts waits for him to walk on over. How nice of him, even if they are both bound to head inside right after meeting. Once there, the pair sit down onto the floor. For the moment, Balamon is hanging from Blaze's arm. Not the position I would've gone for, this works for now.

"Dave?" Blaze inquired, taking a moment to compose himself. No use in blurting it out right now. That would be less of an adult thing to do. Kind of juvenile. "I'm going to need to leave for some time. Could you… hold down the house for me?"

Digging into his pockets, out comes the dancer's gold bag. Dave took a deep breath, gaze not even focusing on the contents. No, he's focused on the person who showed him mercy. Then it's off to the corner to slip into his other outfit. Guess his answer to this simple is quite clear. Gold changes hands, a hug following. So much for that job offer from the other day.

"I'm guessing I have permission to leave the house then?" Dave inquired and got a nod from Blaze. Which was the perfect opportunity to slip his leotard under all of that. Might want to get yourself a proper bag at some point. Especially if you get anything more to carry. "Best of luck, Blaze."

The dancer nodded and headed for the door. Pulling it open, he made one more gaze towards Dave. There was something… comforting about seeing his boyfriend standing there. Someone who we'll be there when you eventually return.

"I'll take as much as I can get." he answered and gave a slight pat. Then it's time to head on out. Which is my cue to shift over to the ruined alleyways. Very little in the way of progress has been made, but that's more the result of such a disaster a mere two days ago. Which is where we find Yvonne and Melody at this exact moment. Their arrival has definitely gone noticed by the various children of the area.

"Was this your home, Ms Rirjaw?" the mystic remarked, already finding herself swarmed with children. She looks to be taking it quite well.

"Still is, even in this state." Yvonne answered and bent down to give a child a hug. She got a hug back in return. Then another. And another. Dang. Someone's quite popular for the moment. It as if they suspect something is about to happen. "I'm going to have to go somewhere. Marulyn is going to be in charge of protecting all of you."

Uh… you didn't tell Marulyn that. Though, I guess that can go without saying. So no problems there. Kind of surprising how receptive everyone is to this. I get wanting your heroes to get out into the world, but has everyone in this town been so content here that they don't dream of leaving this place? Kind of bizarre and almost, suspect to an extent. But I'll let it pass.

Yet, her words seem to reach the children. Even if their focus is now on the strange looking woman she's brought with them.

"That's Melody." Munbimon greeted, the mystic waving towards these children. A couple take the time to get off of her. Even if they do see it as an open opportunity to take a ride on Lumosmon. Uh… You probably don't want to do that. You could be taken away to somewhere less than great. Or something that's just as bad as that.

"Hi…" Melody whimpered, deep breath following. Third time now. Though turnabout is fair play here. Not that it was our ghost monkey's intention. I think. "I'm a Wu Jen."  
The children stare towards her, unsure of what exactly she was talking about. If I didn't know any better, I probably think it was some strange alternate name you had just given yourself. So she closed her eyes and focused - air chilling and condensing into an icy spike. Said projectile fell to the ground, embedding itself into a patch of dirt.

"My training lets me do that, among other things." she continued, face blushing pink for the moment. Quite a number of orcs, succubi and other races had gathered for the moment, possibly curious on what exactly is going on. Perhaps they are seeing our barbarian off. Actually, probably a mix of both for the moment. "No, I'm not entirely how possible it would be to teach any of you that."

Sighs followed, but not for very long. The idea was quite clear on what was going to happen. Even if the people didn't quite know the specifics. Probably for the better. Though, one of the children handed off a small messenger bag to Yvonne. Wrong person, but okay. Even funnier is one could make out Blaze and Balamon making their way over.

"Time for us to go." Yvonne remarked, giving a wave as she turned around. Melody followed suit, the pair making a beeline for the dancer and his partner. Then we're off to the most unlikely of places - the sewers.

"Mommy, home!" Bubbles announced, hoisting his dress up to keep up his perfect record of no stains. Not that there's really any plumbing around here. Well, it's seen as optional or something. Ours isn't big enough to hide in. Keeps the undesirables out. But that doesn't matter for the moment. Mostly because our destination is right in sight at the moment. The body of the mother red dragon still laid there, shrine undisturbed. "Mommy?"

Madame took a deep breath, the other part of them taking control for the moment. Even then, there isn't much you can do right now.

"She's dead, Bubbles." the thief explained, getting look from Ella. Which fair, you could've explained that a hell of a lot better. "But we're ready to be your mommies."

So a mommy is something that doesn't fall under a gender. Good to know. Made a note of that. Ella's look softens, even if she is allowed to be a touch pissed to her 'girlfriend' just to decide that. Guess that works for the moment, if I'm told otherwise, I'll come up with some other phrase to call them. Nonetheless, this dating couple put a hand on the dead dragon. As good of a vow as any for the moment. Though, Madame did mumble something under their breath. Wait. What's that? A bag of gold. Would call that bribery, but it's more of an 'I'm sorry' for the inn.

"Keep it." Ella muttered, pushing the gold back over. "Money ain't going to solve much for a while, you idiot."

Taking a deep breath, our thief's gaze shifted to their companion. Think you should know where this is going right now. Won't even take the time to spell it out.

"Then what exactly do you want from me?" Madame answered, a sigh exiting Ella's lips for the moment. A slight shake followed. Nothing too violent, possibly to get the thief back on track.

"Nothing, you idiot." the artificer answered and let their hand reach out. Madame accepted the gesture. "For the moment, I want to get to know you - both of the true you's."

What looked to be a tear dropped from Cinemon's eye as Kollmon cheered our artificer on. Aww… Though, it's here that our pair take a moment to pay their respects. Then it's off to the mansion.

"Bye!" Bubbles announced, our trio and their partners heading back out the way they came. Which brought them right up to Blaze, Yvonne and Melody along with their digimon partners.

"Ready to do this?"

Nods all around, our heroes make a beeline for Madame's mansion. There isn't much in the way of conversation. No real need for that right now. Everyone has their weapons ready. Sure, that whole infusion trade might be a good thing to talk about, but I get the feeling we'll see a push for that soon enough. Especially if we're to see a counter to that Toxin infusion. Though, I believe in them. They'll think of something. I just know it.

Now at our destination, we head on inside and up the stairs. Turning to the right, we come up on the first of possibly many secret areas. Pushing on through, we're already to the dimensional matrix. Still impressive as ever, even if there is a bit of an echo to my voice for the moment.

"So we just need to scan our D-Ventures?" Yvonne inquired, a tentative nod coming from Ella. Guess my voice is coming through, more or less. Doesn't stop our barbarian from approaching the door and holding her D-Venture. A chime followed. Blaze was right next, doing a little twirl around to save some time. Another chime.

Both Ella and Madame were up next. Guess the pair couldn't decide who could go next at the moment. Doesn't really matter, mostly because they both got a chime. Did have to help Bubbles. Melody was last, shifting her kimono slightly and revealing the choker that was her D-Venture. Doesn't really matter right now. What does, was the door opening up and pulling everyone through. Closed right after t-

* * *

Notes:

Yes, we're starting out the year with a big massive chapter. Which is probably for the best, since my schedule is about to get busy. We're onto the digital world and to some extent - the digital dungeons.

.

Next Time: Sure you can do something, but I'm better at it than you.


	33. Anything that you can do

I don't own digimon.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of being in the city of Aldia and everything it had to offer its residents, I'm almost disappointed in the scenery that surrounds us for the moment. Melody told us what waited on the other side but I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't be the case. Was hoping there would be a heck of a lot more color to this area. Everything seems to be under a gray hue, which is on top of the thick fog ahead. What's more of a concern is that I'm above them. Somehow. I think I'm invisible. Not that we should be testing that for the moment.

As for our heroes, they were laying down on what looks to be sand of all things. Behind them, the water has been frozen in place. Low tide, with the door they came through still standing tall. No sign of other people. Probably closer to land for the moment. Maybe you could take Bubbles here to play in the water and just relax. Of course, after this whole mess has finally done with or something/

"Like, this feels like I'm home." Kollmon announced, helping Madame up and brushing the sand off their dress. "Though I'm not entirely sure why exactly."

Madame looked over to her, just shrugging. For once, this was something concrete - a piece of the puzzle. But to what exactly? A person? A place? Possibly both? Or perhaps nothing at all.

"Does this place have a name at least?" Ella inquired and watched Kollmon just bolt off towards the fog. Didn't even wait for anyone else to get up out of the sand. Hey. Can you hear me, by any chance? "Oh. It's you."

Yeah. Not sure what happened when you we- Wait you can hear me. That means… Yeah.

"So I'm guessing you're the one who Melody linked us through earlier?" Yvonne announced and pulled herself up. Guess your armor is a bit heavier than first glances suggest. Munbimon climbed up right after, taking a seat on the barbarian's shoulder. "Nice to meet you. For real, kinda."

Yeah. It's quite… interesting. Most jobs I've taken haven't been this intense on the narration. Though, all of those were apprenticeships in places that couldn't kill me. Well, I don't think they could kill me. Or perhaps that was weeded out by the apprentice before me. Eh.

"If you don't mind us asking," Balamon added, finding himself getting pulled out of the sand by Cinemon for the moment. "What exactly do you do?"  
I narrate stories - providing the background elements, the details and all the little things that make up the world and its people. Everything that you've done up to this point has been recorded to be viewed by… someone. I don't really have a clue who's actually viewing this. Doesn't really matter though. You guys have someone you need to catch up too at the moment.

As I said that, our heroes shot off. Well, more of they jogged after their friend. Even if Kollmon knew her way around the city, that's still not a reason to run off on your friends. None of you are likely to know your way around this strange maze of stone streets with all these landmarks. Hey, is that a sign by any chance? Can't quite make it out from here. From the looksie, Melody is making her way over. Lumosmon is providing some light at the moment. Not entirely sure if that is completely necessary. The lettering looks to be quite intact, even if the color seems to have faded with everything else. Was kind of expecting something bigger. Like from the top of a hill or something.

"Welcome to Malibu Beach." she remarked, looking it over once more for good measure. "What's a Malibu?"

That's a place… I think. Guess this was once Kollmon's stomping grounds or something at one point. Wait. This changes things immensely.

That means at some point, people were just given these 'digimon' by some sort of entity. But what the heck happened that made everything go to shit? That sort of thing doesn't happen in a day. Probably two at the sheer stupidity that seems to go on. But I digress. Fighting skeletons kind of does that to me at times.

"You were fighting skeletons?" Blaze inquired, my wish for some way to visualize this stuff growing intensely. To answer your question, yes. The place that I worked at was attacked, so we hid in the catacombs. Which were filled with reanimated skeletons. Who were pissed or something. Because of course they were. "Gotcha. You alright?"

Yeah. Lore Magic gives you a tool for most situations. Kind of like your infusions. Even if it doesn't seem that way at times. Especially as you head for the fog. Oops. I'm supposed to be commentating on the action, not talking to you guys. Just ignore me for the moment.

It's here we find Kollmon, waiting patiently. How nice of her. Unless there's somehow no way that you can pass through without everyone. Yet, the mole digimon's gaze turned to her teammates. Especially Madame for the moment. Here we go again.

"Don't even like start." Kollmon muttered and got a look from her partner. A sigh following right after. Sounds about right. "You were doing this all the time."

Madame opened their mouth, but nothing came out. While something smart shouted back might help in the short-term, the long-term not as much. So they bit their tongue and got to thinking. Some other clue had to exist that was overlooked. Wait. There was that strange moment in the graveyard yesterday. That had to be it. Right?

"If nothing else, we need to know what you're looking for." Yvonne announced, Kollmon's gaze split between her and our thief. Kind of impressive, now that I think about it.

"I'm looking for her." she muttered, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments. There was a hope - as tiny as it might possibly be, that something would come back to her much like in the graveyard. But the only thing the mole digimon found was emptiness for the moment. As if life was trying to taunt her with no real way to throw it back at whatever entity life actually was. Opening her eyes, the gaze is back on Madame. And a bit of Ella too for good measure. "She (well, I think they were a she at least) ran a clinic of some kind. If I can find that, maybe I can find her."

Slowly, Bubbles made his way over to our distressed mole and gave her a hug. Dress doesn't look to be too sandy, even if that does mean the end of the clean dress period. Was bound to happen eventually. The fact that our little dragon has done so well is quite impressive.

"Yay?" Bubbles called out and got a head pat from both his mommies. Which makes the nonexistent height difference all the more crazy at the moment. If anything, Kollmon is the shortest. But only by a centimeter or two tops. But that's just me eyeballing it.

After saying that, the fog faded away. Only to appear right behind our heroes for the moment. Absolutely rude. Maybe someone else was in that area and needed that visibility. What would happen then?

"Yes indeed." a voice muttered, Rantha making his entrance. Damage done earlier today has been repaired in whatever capacity their possibly superior tech allows for. Even then, our artisan looks disoriented, "It's actually the next day, you dumb fuck."

Uh… good to know. Even if the sky shows little sign of changing to suggest such a change. So I'll take your word until I have definite proof. That work with you?

Rantha doesn't answer, Carinamon scrambling down his leg and taking a seat at his feet. Okay, I guess we're going to have to fight. You would think he would at least have a comment for seeing his fo-

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Rantha announced, gaze turning to Melody. Oh dear. I get the feeling that alcohol is running through his veins right now. "Come on. Let's go!"  
The mystic took a step back and let her sickle show itself. While she liked to think of Mr Rantha as a friend, moments such as this were testing that. Especially as her 'friend' snatched Kollmon off of the ground.

"Mr Rantha, I understand you're frustrated." she started and looked Rantha right in the eye. "But this is not the best way to deal with those feelings."

But Rantha wasn't listening. No, he decided that it was best to take a swing with one of his newly healed hands. Time seemed to slow down in that moment, as if someone wanted to drag this out before the inevitable escape. Let's be real. It's going to happen.

"I could freeze him." Melody thought as she looked over her opponent, then over to Kollmon. Who was being held in such a way to make it hard to get a clear shot on our Artisan without getting both in the process. "But I need another option. Maybe some way that I can separate them..."

Closing her eyes, she let her head fixate on someone, anyone. A matter of connecting...

**Melody initiated an Infusion Trade with Madame**

**Do you Accept?**

_No/Yes_

Eyes opening back up for our mystic, the box hanging there in front of our thief. Quite impressive.

"I guess." Madame muttered and tapping 'Yes' icon button thing. A gray outline formed around our mystic, even if I'm not sure if that's quite what she had in mind. Works for now.

**Terms Initiated: Temporary**

"Infuse!" Melody announced and Rantha bolted off with Kollmon. Coward! At least wait till she's done. That's the nice thing to do here in these battles. But no honor among thieves or something. "Shade!"

The mystic's body went transparent, which isn't quite the desired effect for the moment. Maybe you should've grabbed Gale from Kollmon before Rantha bolted off? Or even something like Dust from Yvonne? Both are good options at the moment. Even with the random draw you used.

"He would've just made a run for it even sooner." Melody muttered and shot forward, her partner and teammates trying their best to follow right behind. You're right. Though I suspect you'll be able to catch up in some capacity. "It's not a problem."

Good. I know I'm supposed to be impartial and not get attached, but you guys are such fun to watch that I sometimes forget that.

Nonetheless, our chase has kicked off. Be quite interesting to see how Madame's power is going to factor one small problem. Our mystic's eyes were still somehow closed. How the heck she hasn't slammed into a wall is bey-

Having now pointed that out, we have ourselves a collision with a nearby wall. Considering this area is filled with buildings and other hazards, this is going to be quite a mess. Though, I can only assume that speed boost can only be kept while concentrating. Good to know. Then we're off once again. Eyes are still closed. But we do have some hand movement.

"Left!" Blaze announced, ducking under a thrown object of some kind. It would seem he and Cinemon were right behind our mystic. Yvonne was keeping good pace in her armor, with Madame and Ella making up the rear. Quite an equal matchup by way of the lack of knowledge of this 'Malibu' place. Not counting Kollmon of course. But that is probably stretching it.

"Like, let go of me!" Kollmon announced, slashing down at Rantha's hands. What was with this asshat and his ability to be a complete and utter asshole?

**Scratch!**

Connecting with Carinamon at the moment, the scorpion responded with a tail swing of his own. Even then, unleashing a carina gale at the moment runs the risk of blowing the trio away.

"You just have to taunt the hand that feeds you now, don't you?!" Rantha screeched and came to a stop. Melody and co were right behind, Still no clue on what shade could do here. "Fine then! Let me show you!"

**Rantha forces a trade with Kollmon**

**Do you accept?**

_Yes/Yes_

"Crud." Madame muttered, gaze swiveling over to Yvonne. Already, the barbarian had her warhammer at the ready. So our thief got her whip out. That doesn't stop our Artisan from forcing his captive to press 'Yes'.

**Trade Conditions: Forced**

An outline of seafoam green goop surrounds his body. Oh dear. What was that one phrase? Right. Anything that you can do, I can do better? Yeah, that's the one. Though here I think this is not the case. Just because someone does something doesn't mean you should do it in the hopes of topping them. That's an easy way to get yourself into a situation that spirals out of control. Such as this one.

"Corruption!" Rantha announced, giggling like an idiot after saying that. Because we need more reasons to hate your guts at the moment. "Hurricane!"

The wind seemed to pick up, swirling around our artisan for the moment. Definitely not what I was expecting to happen.

Yet, Melody pulled her sickle back. One chance to get this right. If not, this isn't going to be a pretty fight. Flinging the weapon towards Rantha, this looks to be the latter. Especially as our mystic was warped over to her weapon. Huh… That's actually kind of impressive. Similar to droplet, but that could be the result of the lack of weapon used by our little dragon.

"It's alright." Yvonne remarked, light gray outline already appearing around her body. Guess this is no longer a solo battle. "Infuse, Spirit!"

Slamming her weapon into the road, we have our mystic getting pulled towards Yvonne's 'vortex' but also getting pulled away by Rantha's gusts for the moment. Even more so as Melody tried to throw her sickle out. Though, it's kind of hard to focus when the wind could just tear you apart at any moment. She closed her eyes, putting all her energy into concentrating.

"Mr Bubbles, could you come over?" she called out, hoping to god that Bubbles was listening for the moment. Throwing the sickle out, the mystic waited a moment. Then another, with the thud of Yvonne's warhammer slamming down once more. That's odd. I would think you should've been telepor-

For a brief moment, what looks to be the mystic's body floats about the wind, the next she's nearly crushing our little dragon. Though, it does look like Bubbles managed to grab hold.

"Thank you." Melody remarked and rolled off our little dragon. A little head pat followed. Bubbles gave her a hug in return. She accepted the gesture.

"Infuse!" Madame announced, feeling what looks to be a light cyan outline form around them. Okay. Was not expecting that to actually work. Time to see this element in action. "Frost!"

The air around Madame's whip grows cold, condensing into a layer of frost. Swinging the weapon out, we have powdered ice now covering the opposing trio. Even if some of it was also being flung back towards our heroes by the wind.

"Crap." Ella muttered, both Cinemon and Munbimon bringing forth their respective infusion powers. Not that our artificer is really focused on them and their attacks for the moment. No, her focus is on her girlfriend. "You just had to push your luck on that, didn't you?"

Madame rolled their eyes, letting a chuckle serve as their answer. Which just makes the glare coming their way even more intense.

"If I didn't push things, you and I probably wouldn't have ever met." they counter, the other part of them just letting out a mental sigh. Did have a point though. For better or worse. Not that you need to point that out. Yet, Ella deployed her turret.

"We still have a long way to go in that regard." the artificer muttered, turning her attention to Kollmon. A sigh followed. The winds were beginning to pick up and heading right their way. Even with the powdered ice, that was doing little to slow down this assault.

**Dust Kiss!**

Munbimon blew a kiss, the dirt blown up colliding with the powdered ice coming their way. Cancelling each other out, it's a solution.

**Arcane Mewl!**

Much like the previous attack sent out, this strange sound brought down more of the powdered snow. Which was actually quite effective. Possibly too effective in that regard, but oh well.

With that particular threat dealt with, our heroes attention turned to the massive wind gusts. Which you would think they would be on for this whole battle, but you would be wrong. That would be Kollmon. Not that I blame them.

"Infuse!" Blaze shouted, red outline already forming around his body. "Ember!"

Looking towards Yvonne, the dancer got a nod. Running head-on for Rantha, effort was taken to not collide with the turret fire. Though I'm not sure if melting all that powdered ice is a good idea. If anything, you're wrecking the one advantage you gave right now.

Or would've, since Madame was continuing her whipping for the moment. Her aim was rapidly improving. Kind of impressive at the moment.

"That should be good enough." the thief remarked and watched her teammate's scimitar make contact. About dang time. Yvonne was right behind, with the turret fire somehow following in such a way. Which just left her and Melody to bring up the rear. "Give her back. Maybe then this won't be so painful."

Even against these gusts of winds, her words pierced through - crystal clear. Even more as Yvonne's warhammer pushed into Rantha's chest. Ow. Even if they are trying to not hurt him or Kollmon, that got to leave a mark. Even more so as the turret fire collided with our Artisan. Melody came next in this assault, going for a single of

_Trade ended. Returning elements to their respective owners._

Guess that's the end of that. Knowing our luck, the same can't be said about Rantha's attempt at one-upping you guys. Let's not repeat that.

"Oh screw you." Rantha announced and flipped the bird. "Go do whatever the fuck you need to do. I'll be waiting."

That remark got him a look from everyone. Even me for that matter. I'm very much I'm aware you're not alright, Rantha. If you have something you need to talk about, these guys are willing to listen to you. No need to hold back.

"What? Shouldn't you have some magical notes that tell you everyth-" Rantha screeched, collapsing before being able to finish his sentence. The world begins to shake, buildings beginning to sprout forth from the ground. That's not supposed to happen.

"Could be some dwarvish society." Ella suggested, our heroes doing their best to get out of the way of this new threat. While I'm tempted to agree with you here, that doesn't explain the ring of mountains that are now jutting out in the immediate area. Whatever this place is, someone fucked up majorly. Yet, Madame turned their attention to Kollmon.

"Is your home near here?" they inquired, getting a nod in return and headed off. Our heroes were able to keep up this time. Which is definitely a plus, even if the actual destination was a couple of buildings away.

"Here we are." the mole digimon explained and took a deep breath. The door before them is plain and uninteresting, which can make one wonder what awaits on the other side.

Jabbing a paw into the keyhole, a slight twist follows. Then, a click as the door opened up.

Inside, a dead body of what can only be described as a voluptuous blonde lays on the floor. What looks to be a wound to the neck appears to be the cause of death.

* * *

Notes:

Yeah. This was fun to write. Especially the end part. Mostly because I don't usually get to do these large battles that have nearly everyone in them.

Due to me returning to college at the time of writing this, chapters might take a bit longer to come out.

.

Next Time: We have ourselves a dead bo- Wait. They're still alive!


	34. Forgotten Rebirth

don't own digimon.

The following does contain a bit of Transphobia in a flashback.

* * *

Every part of Kollmon was regretting this decision in the moment. While this was definitely the place where she lived at one time, why was a corpse lying on the floor? Her last memory was clearly of a very much alive woman. Though, that was also in an entirely different place with a whole bunch of other people. So that's not the best marker for one's memory. Guess that makes you even with your partner for the moment in regards to killing people.

"Hey! Madame only like... killed seven people at least!" Kollmon answered, Ella going for a punch to the stomach. But hold on, that isn't quite right. Let's do a quick recap of the number of people Madame has killed. We have the grunt from the other day and then the maids. The latter was a team effort between you, Madame, Bubbles and Phusitmon. Yes, they were under this particular Madame's employ at the time. But that didn't stop them from trying to kill Bubbles.

Bubbles nodded, trying his best to not dwell on that fact for the moment. In between that and now, quite a lot had happened to them. The artisan had tried to take them down, he was able to beat him, they met Melody and were now exploring this strange area. Okay, that may not sound like much. But when you're only five or six, it can seem that way. Oh right. Death counts. For the moment at least, we're sitting around two or three. Unless there's somehow a dead body or two hidden back at your mansion. Not that it would be really surprising.

As for the place itself, everything looks to be frozen in time. Which is par for the course so far. The walls have been painted a bright shade of pink, with a bit of sparkles thrown in for good measure. I can think of worse colors to be displayed for such a small building. Especially since this whole place is one large room with the bare minimum of walls on full display. Is this common? Don't think houses are supposed to be jutting out from within this 'home'. That's just silly! Not that this world seems to have much of a sense of humor.

As for the rest of the abode, you have a bunch of strange boxes in the back corner, maybe used with food. Opposite of that is a place to read and draw. Not that I can see much in the way of either. Though that could be the result of a corner rising out from go knows where and trying to snipe people. Quite a strange assassination technique. Not sure that it's actually effective.

Yet, Kollmon headed over to the woman. The tears are already coming down from her small eyes. But sadness is the last thing the mole digimon is feeling at the moment. No, it was more

"You idiot!" she screeched, and slammed her paw into the woman's head. Yet, the head snapped back in place. "You were like better than this!"

What? Were you expecting her head to at least knock around for a couple moments? With everything frozen, it's not going anywhere. She's gone and there isn't much you can do.

"Kollmon?" Cinemon remarked, Kollmon smashing her paw in for a second time. Not sure how effective that actually is right now. You saw what happened last time here. This is just driving the point home. So the feline dog digimon grabbed hold of his friend and pulled her away. Well, tried too at least. "They're gone. Any amount of smacks won't do any good."

Kollmon froze, the world around her and everyone else just flipping upside down. The house is still there (sadly), but the woman is no longer dead. Wait. That's a guy. While I would assume that to be a different person, maybe they became a woman at some point later in their life. It's one possibility. For the moment at least, the pair looks to be taking care of a rabbit. Well, were at some point. The cage remains empty, the food and water dish empty. Nor was there anything in the way of bedding for such a creature to lay down on. Guess that's what happened to them.

"Kollmon, slapping Velvet is not going to make them wake back up." the man explained, upper chest looking just a bit inflated. He's dressed in a loose green shirt (though, I'm not quite sure if that's actually a shirt or something similar) with a pretty long skirt to go with it.

"Well you shouldn't have forgotten to feed him, you small-titted manwhore!" Kollmon announced, their present version absolutely shocked by the words spoken here. There's no speech pattern, just anger and fury. Perhaps misunderstanding to an extent.

Time changes a lot of things. Guess that even implies to digimon. Even if that doesn't make this any less awkward right now. Though, that slap from Ella is just overkill for the moment. Especially since that's the past version you've just slapped. Kind of surprised that this didn't stop the flashback in its tracks. No, the past version of Kollmon looked away and headed for the door. The whole place looks a lot less bright. The walls looked untouched, inspiration just out of reach. Actually, the whole place looks kind of dark right now. Maybe you should turn on a light?

She reached for the doorknob, only to find her paw to just be out of reach of the destined object. So our mole digimon did the natural thing in this situation - smash their claws into this barrier in the hopes of breaking through. An attempt that was immediately stopped by their partner picking them up and setting them down in a corner. Which is also where our flashback 'ends'.

"Dang." Madame remarked, Bubbles already on the move for his usual gestures. But Kollmon doesn't look too excited. No, she looks pissed for the moment.

"Get away from me!" Kollmon screeched and pushed Bubbles out of the way. Doesn't stop him from trying again. The result is just the same. Well, outside of knocking the little dragon over and him rolling to Phusitmon.

"She needs some space, Bubbles. Maybe later when she's calmed down."

A deep breath exited the thief's lips after saying that. This had not been what either part of them had expected. Could say that for the rest of our heroes for the moment.

"Does this sort of thing happen where you're from, Melody?" Blaze inquired, the mystic's gaze shifting over to our dancer for the moment. Not entirely sure where it was initially. I'm going to assume the body, but I have a sneaking suspicion that isn't it.

"Occasionally." Melody answered, Lumosmon shining all over the body. "Though, we tend to take it quite slow. Sometimes we use 'Perception' tricks, to an extent."

Perception tricks? Is that sort of like using polymorph or one of the spells and objects like it?

"We use our mind to give off our desired appearance." Melody explained, gaze turning back to whatever that she was focusing on initially. Which looks to be the body. "Though, I don't think that's the case here."

Yeah. I'll have to agree with you there. Though, we don't have anything to really tell us anything about this woman. Like a name or something. That could be a start. Got anything, Kollmon?

Our mole digimon looked away. Oh dear. It's alright if you don't know the answer to my question. Maybe check the study for something of personal value?

In this case, we have Yvonne of all people headed over to that particular place. Munbimon was right behind. Just be careful to not bump into anything. You're a lot str-

Before I finished saying that, our barbarian pulled a book out. Which brought all the other books forward, then right back seconds later. Yep. Weird world physics at work. Or perhaps two things combined together and canceled each other. Or something that's a mix of the two. It also copies the book. Huh. Definitely too much strength. What's the book, exactly?

"Basic guide to anatomy." Yvonne answered and pulled it open. She looked over the pages, taking in the contents. "Though, there doesn't look to be orcs or any other species."

Oh. I guess that's expected to an extent. They probably don't have those kind of people here. Just humans. Though, I don't think that stops them from fighting each other.

"D….i…..a…...r…..y." the woman announced, trying their hardest to focus on our heroes. At least till their eyes closed for the briefest of moments. Just… fuck. Wouldn't even wish that on my worst enemy. Don't really have such a thing, but that's beyond the point. She's still alive, which means you've failed at murder Kollmon. Or your attempt at least.

"Thanks." Kollmon muttered, gaze shifting away from the bookcase for the moment. Clearing her throat, she focused in on this woman. "I'm sorry."

Yet, the woman shook her head. Well, in a weird disjointed way. Her mouth opens up, but silence is all that comes out for the moment. The ceiling fades away, revealing the same monotone sky from before. Kind of think we would still need that, but I'm not the one who's making those calls. That would be whatever mysterious entity is pulling the strings - if at all.

Unless these past version of Kollmon and her human are somehow the answer to that. Like seriously, I don't think that pair is supposed to be here. At all. Least no sort of effect was applied over vision at least.

"Do you know where we can find her diary?" Phusitmon remarked, Kollmon closing her eyes for the moment. It was a good question. Even if I was expecting someone like Balamon or even Munbimon to ask it. This works too.

"Maybe." Kollmon eventually answered and opened her eyes. There was only one other place she could remember - the clinic. But where was it exactly? Even then, there's the matter of the whole mountains and buildings jutting out from the ground. A rumble echoed through the area, our heroes's attention turn to an opening in the walls that hadn't existed before. There, a tower had sprouted forth along with a river of all things. Which might be why there's a bunch of buildings just diverting the flow. Yep, this place was definitely not designed for the stuff that's happening at the moment. Though, I'm not sure if there's anything that actually would really. The oddest thing of all, was what looked to be the clinic in question, Well, fuck. That's not ideal whatsoever.

Though, you might want to find some durable bag. May not be magical, but they should serve as storage until we get some of that particular ki-

Before I had a chance to finish that sentence, our heroes had found a closet. Missed that on my initial look. Oh well. I'm probably just a few feet above them. At most. Even then, I'm out of range to getting fired at. Thankful for that at least. That should be expected though. Anything else would be absolutely absurd in a situation like this.

Pulling it open, we find a bunch of purses. Yeah, those things that people carry around. Not sure why a regular bag isn't good enough or something. There's quite a number to pick from. Unless the world decides to eat a couple and not give an equivalent thing back in return.

"I'll take this one." Blaze remarked, grabbing what looked to be a sparkly pink purse and pulled back. A copy shot out from the original, but our dancer looks unharmed for the moment. Thankfully. I'm willing to provide a cover story for any injuries. "That won't be necessary."

Gotcha. Just know that my offer is on the table should you need an alibi of some kind before we head back through to Aldia. Never mind. They wouldn't be able to hear me. My bad.

Bubbles was up next. While the purse he had chosen was a bit on the smaller side, that didn't stop the actual duping process from giving our little dragon some trouble.

"Do you need some help?" Madame inquired and Bubbles shook his head. Then he's back to pulling on the purse strap, trying his hardest to dupe one. It's only a matter of ti-

Bubbles went flying backwards (again), purse tossed up into the air for the moment. Maybe it would've been better to have gotten the help in the first place. Yet, Phusitmon made his way over to his partner. Not to scold him, but to make sure the little dragon was okay. Of course, that got the plush rabbit digimon a hug. Oh right, the purse. Bubbles's had gone for a glacial blue one with a bunch of sparkles on it. Sort of like the dress that currently adorned his body. A perfect match, especially as we head onto Madame. In one swift motion, the thief had their purse duped and hanging at their side. Guess it's all in the wrist or something. Did get them a look from Ella.

"Show-off." the artificer muttered and let her attention shift back to her briefcase. Oh right. You don't really need a bag in the first place. My bad. Unless you real-

Taking that as a challenge, Ella pulled a purse of some kind out. Not quite as smooth as Madame's motion, this got the job done.

"You happy now?" the artificer announced, getting an invisible thumbs-up from me. Yes, I'm happy now. Probably even more when I'm returned to my proper place. But that's something to be dealt with some other time. Especially as Melody and Yvonne go to grab their bags. Though I'm not entirely sure where the latter is going to really hold it. Oh. Like everyone else at least. Just sling it onto their side. Not sure why I thought this would be different. Oh well. That should be everyone n-

_Initializing Digital Dungeon - The tower at the end of the world_

Hey! I'm the one who's supposed to be narrating this at the moment. You're really encroaching on my duties. While I prefer that you not do that for the moment, I'm willing to hear out your reasoning for such activities. I'll just wait then.

The next couple moments are silent. Guess whoever this person is doesn't have an answ-

_Setting 'Mr Lore Mage' as Assistant Dungeon Master. Registering players…_

Wait, what? Can't you see that this is the worst possible time to interrupt? We're trying to solve a mystery and this is the last thing we need at the moment. Especially since we still don't have an answer at the moment and nee-

_Don't really care for the moment. Suck it up and you'll find it or something._

That's not very helpful. Especially since it seems like that you have absolutely no faith in any of us. Which doesn't bode well for me, the narrator or them at all.

But no answer came. Okay… I guess you guys might want to exit this place. Maybe even say goodbye to the nice lady for letting you borrow her purses. That's the least you can do after all that's transpired so far.

"Thank you!" Bubbles shouted, walking over to the woman trapped between between two states. The usual hug followed. Not that the woman was really in a state to really refuse such a gesture. Even if she somehow could, death didn't sound that great either. "Get better?"

Kollmon took a deep breath, joining Bubbles in front of her former partner. A million different things echoed about, refusing to leave some kind of silence in the mole digimon's head. Yet her gaze focused in on the woman. The whispering of something followed. What she said doesn't really matter for the moment. A secret to everyone except the pair. Easier that way.

"She will, Bubbles." Kollmon muttered and took the time to set Phusitmon on the dragon's back. Which sort of worked with the purse. Then it's back on over to Yvonne and company. Does get our mole digimon a slight pat from their partner. It's accepted to the best of their abilities.

"Thanks Miss Doe!" Melody announced, taking the time to wave. While the mystic didn't get a response back, our mystery woman's eyes did light up for a moment. Then we're off to the outside world. Setting the matter of that voice aside, I'm quite excited. Makes you wonder what's in store for us out there.

* * *

Notes:

Bit of a shorter 'breather' chapter before we head into the Digital Dungeons.

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Next Time: Dealing with these 'AI' things. Oh brother.


	35. Ai, Ai, Ai

I don't own digimon.

Warning! This particular chapter of Digital Dungeons contains a character with opinions that don't reflect that of the author's. Please don't kill me.

* * *

From the look of things, the last of the changes have been completed. Phew. Anything else of note, entity?

_Let's see… We have one boy and five gi-_

"For starters, Bubbles is a boy and I'm neither." Madame announced, whip already out as she stared up towards the sky. Her teammates gazes joined hers in solidarity. Normally I would rather you not piss off this unknown entity, but I'm going to agree with you here. If you're not going to respect that, we're going to have some major problems with that. This isn't the sort of situation where we're all joking about. We're not telling you that to anger you, just so we don't have any hiccups going forward.

_So you're all straight then? If you're not, then…_

You didn't even hear a single word of what I just said, did you? Because this is taking quite a lot of effort to not call thunder upon your location and just be done with you. Give me one good reason to not do so. I'm willing to listen.

Yet, our mysterious entity has no real answer to my question. For now at least, best to take things in once more. Especially as everyone's gazes returns to the area around them.

For the moment, we find ourselves standing on the edge of what I can only assume to be a village of sorts. Behind you is a large set of mountains. Tall and unnatural, someone really wants to keep you all in. For what reason I'm not entirely sure.

"Is it possible to climb said mountains?" Blaze inquired, Munbimon of all digimon making an attempt. Fluttering up to the face of it, the ghost monkey tried to grab hold. Only to get flung off said rock right after. Oh dear. Guess that isn't the case. Well, crud. That stupid entity trapped us in here.

"Speak for yourself." a voice announced and wouldn't you believe it, we have ourselves a Rantha. Wonderful. Definitely don't need that sort of negativity in my life. Though, Carinamon isn't on him. "He's eating a large metal thing."

I know we're not friends and all, but… why? He's a scorpion of all things. I'm fairly certain that his diet doesn't include those things. To answer the obvious question, I think it's something involving fruit. But don't quote me on that. Probably wrong in that regard.

"How the fuck should I know?" Rantha countered, shouting up at the sky for the moment. "He turned into a bird, threatened to 'cure' my memory and then started to eat that large metal thing."

_Language! I have one robot trying to hump the glass of a glass tube and another drooling while staring at some girl. That's she trying to feed. She's frozen. In time! There's no flipping way that she'll ac- Why the fuck am I surrounded by morons!_

"Uh language?" Ella remarked as we continued our look around the general area. Tucked away in a corner, there looks to be a tavern of all places. Pretty low-key place, I guess you could go in there. Heck, it even has a couple cute shops by it. All of which have some space between them. Maybe once we're done with the tavern, you all can get some supplies. You did remember to bring money, right?

Blaze looked away. I get that you were trying to be nice to your boyfriend and all, but you probably should've left a little gold for yourself. Especially after not getting around to showing him that job with those two orcs.

"I know." the dancer remarked, looking away for the moment. While he hadn't told his teammates of his lack of money for the moment, the cat was out of the bag now. "I have everything that I need. If something comes up, I'll just dance for money. That usually works most of the time."

Yvonne shot him a look. To be fair, none of you know if your money even has any equivalent value with whatever inhabitants that just poofed into existence for the moment. Let's all play it cool till we have some general idea on things. Good?

Judging by the nods I seem to be getting, we're all in agreement on this. Sorry about stealing your thunder, Yvonne. Wasn't my intention there. Just kind of came out that way.

"It's alright." the barbarian remarked, slipping her helmet into the purse. Fairly certain that shouldn't fit in such a small bag, but somehow does. Huh. Whatever works for you at the moment. "You have your job and I have mine."

Understood. Anything else you need to tell, mysterious entity?

_No. Just go and be whatever the heck you're supposed to be. I really don't care right now._

With that confident statement, our heroes made their way over to the nearby tavern. No real signage, just a random unmarked place that resembles a drinking establishment. Think it would have a name, at least. That isn't just 'Tavern', of course. Unoriginal, not really memorable and absolutely generic.

"Maybe 'Tavern at the end of the world'?" Ella suggested, getting what looked to be a nod from her partner. Yes, that's a bit on the nose. But I can see it working. Any other suggestions?

"I was thinking Gathering Spot." Munbimon added and rubbed her chin. "Since people like to come together there and hang out?"

Yvonne looked to her digimon. While there wasn't really much in the way of actual bars in Aldia (just a couple well past the Shakey Walls Cafe), they hadn't gotten anywhere close to any of them. Sure, Munbimon could've gotten her idea from their visits to the cafe. But what if that somehow wasn't the case? What if this was just a small piece of the puzzle that could lead them to the ghost monkey digimon's former owner. Sure, there had been that one moment the other day, but Munbimon hadn't really made much of a fuss about it.

"Sort of like a cafe?" she remarked, testing her theory at the moment. Yet, Munbimon shook her head. Guess there's something there. Or is this just a false positive we'll need to get to the bottom in the hopes of the truth. Just food for thought.

"Not like that." Munbimon countered, looking away from the place for a moment. What looked to be a tear fell on down. None seemed to follow it though. "There's a different energy to it. But I can't put my paw on it right now."

Yvonne nodded, getting ready to ask her next question. Which fair enough. Of course, someone had far different ideas in that regard. How rude.

"Hi!"

What looks to be a torso formed out from the middle of the door, decked out in a strange-looking black hat on their head. They have a set of arms, even if I'm not quite certain that it should for the moment.

Not sure I can trust those black beady eyes. They look like the sort that will feed you to skeletons without a second thought

"That sounds horrible!" this person? (yeah, let's go with that) announced, gesturing for us to come over. "Come on in! We're always looking for new people to party in me."

Uh… This is your call, guys. I'm not really one for bars. Especially ones that are somehow sentient. So you're going to have to guide me through th-

Before I even have a chance to finish my sentence, a large hunk of metal came flying towards the tavern. Quite rude.

**Nazer Blade!**

A large blade of acid appeared out what I can only assume to be a window. Colliding with this strange hunk of metal, it would appear that this wouldn't be our mysterious entity's day. Though that's not to say their behavior could use an adjustment. A major adjustment in fact. Especially if this relationship is to work. If at all.

_I would need to kill you then._

Their words roll out of their nonexistent mouth and I can't believe what I'm hearing. There's no way that

You do realize that's not how relationships work, right? Or are we working with the logic of less than sane people here? Because if it's the latter, then we're going to have a problem.

_The Criasu handbook says the best way to have a heterosexual relationship is to murder your partner in some brutal, graphic fashion on a romantic outing. Especially if they turn out to be a precure. Then I most definitely need to kill you. Then I can become one in your place._

For ick… 'homosexual' relationships, you just throw a car at them. That, or just genderbender one of the partners.

What. The. Fuck. Did you even listen to a single word you said to us? Because I'm fairly certain that you haven't. And that's worrying. What's happening right now isn't a game and I can't even trust you to not murder one of my characters. This is your last chance. I am more than ready to bring lightning down on you without any regard to your safety or wants. Is that clear?

The entity doesn't respond. Typical. A yes or no would've been more than enough in this situation. But no, that would be too hard for you. Sorry, this is just frustrating for me.

"For starters, what does heterosexual mean?" Cinemon remarked, our heroes and their digimon turning to this strange person still sticking out of the door.

"Uh…" the torso answered and disappeared inside for a moment. Guess they needed to talk to the person inside. Fair enough. Even if they don't know, we can probably ask one of the shopkeepers. If they don't know, we'll keep asking people until one of them gives us a satisfactory answer. "I asked Billie and she doesn't know. And she knows everything!"

Like I said. Wait. That's a person! Or something that might be someone capable of speaking. We're making progress. Maybe.

I kind of jumped the gun there. My bad.

Getting a nod from someone, our attention returns to this torso thing.

"Uh… Who's Billie?" Phusitmon remarked, a hand waving out the window of the 'tavern'. A set of wicked black spikes hang from each finger, with what looks like a vambrace of all things hanging from what little amount of the arm is visible for the moment. Guess that's Billie. Yet, the plush rabbit digimon's gaze turns back to the torso for the moment. For a brief moment, the world seems to twist about and gives way to a dark back room. Bars surround him at all sides, but that's not the only thing at work here. A baby laid right beside him. Dressed in what looked to be pajamas, they're quite cute and pretty. They're currently asleep.

Even if the shouting in the background isn't helping or cute. Not that I can think of a time when it would ever be 'cute' or 'pretty'.

"I don't want any part of this anymore!" a woman screams, the sound of glass following her statement. Then a punch. Can't tell where exactly. Probably for the best. "You had all the chances in the world and you just waste them, you dumb fuck!"

The sound of a door slamming echoes about, jutting Phusitmon back into reality for the moment. Good thing too, since Bubbles is already making his way over to this torso jutting out of the door. Up close, there's quite a height difference. Though, Rantha's laughter is quite uncalled for at the moment. But that can just be ignored for the moment.

"Bubbles!" the little dragon greeted, holding his claw out. "Name?"

Looking down towards Bubbles, the torso grabbed hold and gave it a slight shake. Looks kind of goopy. Probably feels quite good. Not that we have any frame of reference for that sort of thing.

"I'm Tavern!" the torso greeted, 'smile' hanging on his head as the door opened up and pulled him away. Guess we can finally head on inside. Though, it's kind of dark for the moment. "Sorry about that. We ran out of candles."

Rantha let out a snicker, what looked to be a candle coming out. Well that's handy. Even if I don't quite trust you after the last incident.

Still got me a look up towards the sky. Not sure what to tell you here. This is just as much your mess as it is ours right now. You're going to have to be a team player this time around.

"Take it." he muttered and made his way over to Tavern's door. Doesn't stop this strange person from appearing in front of Rantha. The cylinder trades hands, with Tavern heading over to Billie. "I can make more if you want."

Lighting the candle, the whole area is a heck of a lot easier to observe. From the looksie, we have a bunch of wooden tables with mismatched chairs galore. Black flags marked with skulls hang all over, somehow not catching fire from the torches that hang in between. What looks to be the titular bar is off to the side, with this Billie woman to boot. Decked out in blackish purple plate armor, the whole thing looked to be mostly an attempt to show as little skin as possible. Or would be, if not for the vambraces in place of actual metal gloves for the moment. A head of dark purple hair has been tied into a bun, going quite well with the set of violet eyes and purple lips on full display for the moment. Like an angel, except not somehow.

"That's alright, dear." Billie cooed and looked towards Bubbles and Phusitmon. Her expression changed, a sigh following it. "You're a little young to be drinking. I'll need you two to wait outside."

Not wishing to argue with the woman capable of bringing forth a blade of acid, the pair complied and exited Tavern. Even if that did get her a look from Madame. Oh boy. We just met these people. Let's not get on either of their bad side. Not before getting geared up.

"I'm just enforcing the rules here." the bartender remarked, attention turning to the rest of our heroes. "I trust you're wondering what the heck is going on here?"  
Nods. That's the expectation at least. Would be odd if that somehow wasn't the case. Though, if you don't mind me asking, are you human by any chance?

Billie just laughed. Huh. Guess that's no then. One of those 'digimon' then? Or do you hail from a race not found in Aldia at least?

_Loading… Screw it, you're going to take this digimon analyzer upgrade and you're going to like it you murderhobos._

"You're a rude AI." Tavern announced, confusing me even more. First we have 'heterosexual', then there's 'precure', 'murderhobo' and 'AI'. Though, the last one I think I might know the answer to that. Annoying Informer. Yeah. That's probably it.

Though, that is now someone's last chance. Oh deities of the storm, I wish to call upon your storms to strike down this annoying voice and it's talent for somehow wanting to kill us all.

While I'm unable to actually see the results of my spell, I get the feeling that the target was hit.

_Fucker. You ruined the upgrade process! There was no need to do that._

"You didn't even ask if we wanted they wanted the upgrade in the first place." Balamon remarked and slithered down from Blaze's arm and onto the floor. Surprised he didn't take some time in the purse. "I prefer to hitch rides on things that give off heat."

Guess that would make sense. Even if that doesn't explain why Tavern is now in front of everyone. Guess it's his turn now to do the speaking. Still doesn't answer my question in regards to Billie. Not that I really need to know for the moment. Just food for thought.

"We're not entirely certain." he explained, looking towards Billie for the briefest of moments. "This place looks like the digital world, yet there's a different feeling to it."

Judging by the looks towards Rantha for the moment, seems blame is already being assigned. Jumping a bit ahead now, are we? Until we have concrete information, it's no one's fault. Got it?

"Oh shut it." Rantha muttered and looked down to the floor. Mumbling followed, not that I am able to catch any of it. Probably something negative. "It's most definitely me here. Why else would I be standing in a pub similar to the one that used to be here?"

His words roll out, silence taking hold of the room once more. While the odds aren't quite in your favor of this being the case, who's to say it somehow isn't. Weirder things have occurred so far. Yes, I'm aware that's not going to help your mental space. But maybe if you talk to us about it, we can get to the bot-

Rantha's fist slammed into a table. Not enough to break his hand, but came quite close to repeating his mistake from the 'previous' day. Thankfully, Yvonne grabbed hold of his other hand.

"Can you promise me to not do that with your other hand?" the barbarian remarked, our artisan looking away for the moment. "Could you at least tell us your story?"

More grumbling, Rantha choosing to take a seat instead of answering Yvonne's question. Kind of expected right now. In between the events back in Aldia and here, we've all been going a mile a minute. Especially with this

"I'm just a lowly shopkeeper." he muttered, gaze fixed on the floor. "I'm not sure why, but people seem to like me. Somehow, I got married so many times over. But none of that stuck. It's as if I was living the same loop without any sign of stopping."

Loop? As in a time loop? Because if that's the case, then why is this place here in the first place? Shouldn't it not exist for the moment?

Yet, Rantha shook his fist towards the ceiling. Didn't even look up from the floor. Before he had a chance to really continue, what sounded like a loud squawk echoed about.

_Roll for Initiative_

* * *

Notes:

Believe or not, I have DMeed an actual campaign for people. It was while working on Cho & Me. Which seems odd, considering my actual group skills can leave a lot to be desired. Yes, I'm very much aware of how weird that sounds. As much as I like to get back into that, trying to juggle that, running this and my fire emblem stuff and going to college, I don't think I would have any time for myself.

Oh yeah, we're getting an adventure reboot. Eh. The best part of that is were getting the director of Digimon Adventure for it. Who also did Mahoutsukai Precure. Which is one of my favorite anime.

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Next Time: Aligning with the winds in the grayscale.


	36. The enemy of my enemy

I don’t own digimon.

* * *

“Roll for what now?” Ella remarked, asking the question on everyone’s mind. Well, hopefully on their mind at the moment. Not really that much of a mind reader. Sure, being a narrator gives me the ability to see one’s thoughts. But within limits of course. They have to actually be thinking something for me to read their heads. It can’t be idle chatter. Even then, idle chatter isn’t really that interesting in the first place.

“Good to know.” Munbimon remarked and jumped off of Yvonne’s shoulder. Good timing too, since this was the moment that our barbarian raised her warhammer up in anticipation of the coming threat.

_ Let’s see here… We need to figure out the order on who gets to attack. You are telling for initiative, right? _

Why exactly do we need to know that? We’ve been doing pretty well without such a system in place. How does this benefit us?

“I don’t think it really does.” Yvonne remarked, scanning the area. While there looks to be no sign of actual threats, I suspect that’s going to change quite fast. “If I had to take a guess, it lets people like me get a head start?”

I can see that, but doesn’t tell us why we need to ‘roll’ for it. This unwritten agreement we’ve had so far seems to be working well. Though, who wants to vote on our chosen style?

For the moment at least, nods from everyone in the tavern. Not that the threat of a large bird is really putting anyone on edge. Probably easily manageable. Wait. I shouldn’t have said that. Hopefully I didn’t jinx it for you guys.

For the moment, my comment went ignored. For the best. Superstitions aren’t something I usually believe in anyhow. But considering that there’s someone else who may be calling the shots for the moment, it’s good to be a little cautious. Least for now.

“Are Tavern and I eligible for this vote?” Billie remarked, everyone’s gaze already on her for the moment. While I don’t see any reason why not, even though you did dodge my question earlier. “I’m a digimon - a SquireLilithmon to be exact.”

_ Enabling Scanner… _

_ Izumi Tech Scanner enabled. _

A picture of Billie appeared upon a wall of what I can only assume to be magic of some kind. It has a nice blue glow to it. Or whatever this world’s equivalent of such things would be. Not that I would know it off the top of my head. 

_ Loading information… _

**SquireLilithmon**

**Mega, Data**

**Special Moves: Nazer Blade, Acid Armor**

**.**

**Mister Lore Mage: So this displays data on digimon?**

**?: Correct, assistant dungeon master. Though, I’m surprised that you didn’t know that.**

**Mister Lore Mage: None of us are from around here.**

_ Finished loading. Now closing Analyzer screen. _

“Okay…” Madame remarked, the wall of something or other fading away for the moment. Their gaze shifted up to the ceiling, but not before clearing their throat. “Doesn’t make up for the behavior displayed earlier though.”

_ Does that really matter? If anything, you’re the problem here. You couldn’t just be norm _

Madame made their exit, Kollmon following right behind. I’m with you two here. No place for that shit right now. Take that somewhere else, bury it and let those bygones be. Then maybe come back and apologize. If not, you already know how we feel about this. Or must I remind you?

No answer, especially as the rest of our heroes and digimon joined our thief outside. Before them, was a large red bird. Their beak casually taps against the roof of this tavern, while what appears to be a plume of metallic colored feathers slide against the ground. All colors of the rainbow, it’s quite pretty. Even if I can only assume it to be quite deadly. Though, there’s

“Carinamon!” Rantha screeched, the bird focusing in on him for a moment. A loud screech pierced through the silence, this unknown creature going in for a bite.

“Again and again we go.” the bird answered, gaze split between his partner and our heroes. “Have you forgotten Rantha, I’m Adarnamon. You asked me to erase your pain - all the marriages, all the adventures. To be blank once more…”

Well… that’s something? Even if that is true, you made your choice. Going to have to live with knowing you threw your past life out for what I can only assume to be a very good reason.

Yet, Rantha looked up towards the sky. Then it’s back to his partner. Even then, he’s really trying to hide his face from me. Hey. We’re in this together. Like it or not.

“Thanks, captain obvious.” the artisan muttered and pulled out what looked to be a knife of all things. As tools go, it’s pretty plain and not really interesting in the slightest. Which just begs the question on what secret function awa-

Raising the knife to his arm, Rantha slid it across his skin. Drops of blood hit the ground. Of course, this fucker decides that the best course of action is to cut himself. Figures.

“Rantha!” Melody screeched, eyes mid-closing as she shouted that. The air around her condenses, with what looks to be another one of her motes forming in front of her head. Shooting the projectile forward, the mystic managed to knock the weapon out of Rantha’s hands before serious harm could be done. “You idiot! Harming yourself is not going to help you.”

Yet, Rantha still reached for the knife. A slam from Yvonne’s warhammer brought an end to such attempts at self-harm for the moment. Thankfully, our artisan still has his hand.

“Don’t.” the barbarian added, pulling her warhammer back. Gazing over to Rantha, she took a deep breath. “If your solution to your problems is to hurt yourself and others, then I’m going to need you to come up with something else here.”

Rantha looked away and pulled out another knife. Compared to the first knife, this one seemed designed less for self-harm and more an actual fight. Now we’re getting somewhere. 

"Okay." Rantha answered and charged towards Adarnamon. Coming within mere inches of his partner, a gust launching him into the tavern door. Bubbles scrambled over, healing glow at the ready. Starting with the cuts to the ar-

_ Let's see here… You do your best to mend the self-inflicted wounds of your 'frenemy', but your lack of experience prevents you from really doing anything to actually stop the bleeding. _

Bubbles looked up towards the sky, not quite following what he had just heard. Even if he somehow did, Rantha still has his cuts. Grabbing hold of the Artisan's arm, gentle pressure was applied with the healing magic.

"Better?" Bubbles inquired, his patient remaining silent. So he let go of the arm and went for his favorite move - a hug. Yet, Rantha pushed him away. "Okay…"

_ Hey. You had your roll! You're breaking the rules right now. I'm going to need to roll back your healing and have you wait your turn. _

Rantha's cuts reopen, forcing Bubbles’s attention back on the Artisan’s arm. At least let him finish his work for the minute. That's the least you can do. Or would that still be a ‘rule’ violation?

"We don't even know what said rules are." Yvonne countered, getting what I can only assume to be a sigh from this entity. “How do you expect us to play by ‘your rules’, if you’re not going to tell us what they are in the first place?”

The entity doesn’t answer. Instead, the bird chooses to focus on the rest of our heroes. I guess he was waiting for an attack that never came. Sorry about that?

“Aren’t you going to hit me?” Adarnamon remarked, getting a shrug from Ella of all people. Might I suggest that you choose your words carefully?

Looking up towards me, the artificer nodded. Then she’s back to looking at the bird. Did get me a look from Adarnamon. Hi. I’m that weird guy providing narration. Feel free to ignore me.

“This is a fight between you and that idiot of a partner.” Ella explained, gaze just catching a glimpse of the tower out in the distance. While there only lead, the large building on top seemed tease them out in the distance. “If anything, we’re trying to get to the bottom of our own little mystery.”

Adarnamon nodded and focused on his partner. There was a million different things that he could be said in this moment. Opening his mouth, a scream comes out. Not sure what that was suppos-

Color begins to vanish from the surrounding area. The water goes gray, the buildings now near indistinguishable from one another. We're next, aren't we?

Fuck. Dispel! Dispel! Dispel! Crap. that isn’t working. Or perhaps this is a different sort of thing entirely. Maybe something restorative. That stuff usually doesn’t have anything in the way of safeguard.

_ Maybe you should’ve rolled the dice and done your saving throws? _

What followed, was everyone - even Adarnamon of all people looking up towards the sky. Yeah. We're somehow the crazy ones here in this situation. Not you, the strange disembodied voice supposedly calling the shots.

“You’re saying a lot of stuff and then expecting us to somehow magically know.” Kollmon countered and shook her claw towards what I can only assume to be this unknown entity. Though in our current situation, it looks more like it’s pointed towards Adarnamon. “Like, we’re not mind readers (outside of Melody of course), you need to tell us.”

_ Fine. You need to guard your mind from this strange effect. But since you all flubbed your roll, sucks to be you. _

As great of an ‘explanation’ that was, I’m still not certain why it’s called a ‘saving throw’ in the first place. Wouldn't something like that be called a defend or dodge depending on the situation?

Yet, no answer came to my question. Not that I really needed an explanation, just some sort of acknowledgement of it.

Looking down to her feet, Ella found the black of her tenchcoat give way to a boring gray color. Spreading fast, the rest of her outfit was next to fall in line with this wicked spell. Bubbles and Rantha were next to fall victim. Though, flipping the bird isn't going to do you any favors for the moment. Especially after all the times I've had to tell you that fact.

The Artisan still rolled his eyes, gaze shifting back to Adarnamon. A smile (or whatever the closest thing to a smile a bird digimon could manage) formed on his face. Laughter followed.

"What's so funny?!" Rantha screeched, feeling Melody and Blaze grab hold of him. To make absolutely sure that we have no funny business, Yvonne walked over and put herself in between the Artisan and his partner. "I'm your enemy! You should be thrilled by my possible death! Why are you trying to stop me?"

He does have a point, not that it's going to stop Yvinne from approaching. Placing a hand on Rantha's shoulder, she took a deep breath.

"Yes." the barbarian answered as Rantha looked away. "You are our enemy. But right now, we need to work together. The time for coming to terms with the destruction you've caused Aldia will come. Believe me, it will. Right now, we need to get through this battle."

Rantha nodded, gaze focusing on Yvonne currently. Mumbles of something followed, but I caught none of it. Then, a nod.

"I'll take your word for it, boss." Rantha muttered, looking up towards the sky. "There. You finally got me."

Not that I really consider that much of a victory. Especially with that grayscale still tearing us up for the moment. Ask me after that and maybe, just maybe I'll answer.

Rantha nodded, looking now to Blaze. Though, the dancer seemed to already be looking towards him. Talk about coincidences. More mumbling now.

“Can you do something for me, ballet boy?” the artisan continued, this tentative alliance forming for the moment.

"Got it." Blaze remarked and pulled out his scimitar. For the moment, the blade was unscathed and still full of color. Not if Adarnamon Turning to Balamon, his partner gave a nod. The red outline appeared around his body, magical word ready to be said. "Infuse! Ember!"

What exactly do you all have in mind here?

No one answered. Instead, Adarnamon let out a laugh and let his focus shift away from Rantha and over to our heroes.

“There. Now this is all of your guy’s fight.” the bird digimon remarked and looked towards everyone. Fairly certain there’s easier ways “Look at what you made me do! It’s quite a shame that I’m going to need to go even further!”

Rantha rolled his eyes, flashes of something filtering right through. But the details were hazy. It’s all out of focus, taunting him in that moment for his choice. Pushing it to the backburner, 

“Bring it.” the Artisan announced, Blaze already running forward. There’s a bit of a skip with each step he took, as if our dancer is about to do a bit of a pirouette and twirl. Rantha was right behind, the pair striking together. Okay, they weren’t quite in sync. But close enough to be seen as such currently. Not that this stopped our bird digimon here from holding back his laughter.

“Do you know the definition of insanity, Rantha?” Adarnamon cooed, gazing down towards his partner. A peck followed, sending him flying back for the moment as what looked to be what little color remained in his clothes faded out. "It's expecting something different to happen when you do the same actions over and over again."

Nonetheless, Bubbles was already back to assisting Rantha in healing his injuries. He even managed to avoid getting hit. Got that going for us.

_ What part of this don’t you fucking get?! It’s not your turn! Stop trying to heal that dumbass and let someone else go for once! _

Bubbles looked up to the sky. He was just trying to help out Rantha for the moment. Why couldn’t this person see that? What wasn’t clear to them? Sure, it was rude of him to act out of turn. He knew that. But this entity was being ruder here. That doesn’t put things as right, more… necessary at the moment. Yeah, that’s the word.

“No.” he answered and closed his eyes, hand reaching out for Rantha’s arm. But unlike his previous attempts, there was something different here. It’s as if he is trying to reach out to someone for the moment. Especially as a pop-up appeared in front of artificer for the moment.

**Bubbles initiates a trade with Ella**

**Do you accept?**

**Yes/No**

Ella’s gaze shifted to Bubbles and subsequently, Rantha. Not a mind reader, but I think she understands what the little dragon has in mind for the moment. Considering how little of a plan we have at the moment, this is better than nothing. Giving a nod, a tap of the ‘yes’ button followed.

**Trade Terms: Temporary.**

A cyan outline forms around Bubbles’s body, energy surging about for the moment. What’s it going to be? Another charging attack? The possibilities are endless.

The answer to that question we’ll just have to wait, since a pastel green outline appeared around Ella’s body. Placing a hand on her turret, the artificer pointed the weapon towards Rantha.

“Infuse!” she announced, energy surging through her body. While this plan looked risky, the outcome should possibly work in their favor. That, or it somehow backfires in some epic way that no one is expecting. Either option is quite possible.

“Fuse!” he shouted and tightened his grip on Rantha’s arm. While he wasn’t sure how much of this would translate to his frenemy, that didn’t matter. He would be there for the Artisan. Sure, Rantha might not quite like it at first, but he needed someone. And Bubbles was willing to take the first steps in helping him work through his pain. Maybe even get him help so that he could turn this all around. “Arcane!”

Right as Bubbles said that, the first of the bullets reached Rantha. But instead of hurting him, they looked to be healing him. Great and all, except for the fact that he’s still stuck in the gro-

“Come on.” Yvonne muttered, pulling Rantha out and setting him back on his feet. Probably another ‘turn’ violation or something. Doesn’t really matter now.

_ I’m not even going to bother. Just finish this. _

Uh… good to know strange entity. 

Rantha focused on his partner, a deep breath following that. Part of him wasn't quite sure whether to trust Adarnamon's claim of erasing his memories. If that was true, there should be a hole of sorts on when it happened and when he met Carinamon. But as far as the Artisan could tell, no gap existed. Sure, that wasn't counting all the marriages he was part of, those could be linked to some sort of time loop. Yeah. That had to be it. Ignoring the passenger holding onto part of his arm and the blood dripping down from it, he flung the knife into his partner. All of which was flung right back to the ground. So he picked the weapon up, finding Yvonne and company lining up to join in this assault. Minus Ella of course, since she was currently manning her turret. Quite necessary for this plan, of course.

**Adarna Tornado!**

“Oopsy.” Adanamon remarked and began flapping his wings. The winds begin to pick up, poison getting tossed about for further salt to the wound at the moment. “Quite a shame that you’re now all going to be… blown away.”

Well, fuck. Probably should’ve seen this coming. I jinxed you guys. My bad. I can only watch as our heroes were flung up into the air. Clumps of poison swirled about, threatening to sting anyone who came close for the moment. 

"Adarnamon..." Rantha muttered, going in for a dive. All while Bubbles still hung on. Doesn't stop the Artisan from pulling his knife back and going in for one more strike on Adarnamon. While contact is made, it's not enough to really defeat this bird. Even if some color did return to the surrounding area. Then it's right back up into the air for him and our little dragon. "At least play fair, you dumb fuck."

For that remark, Rantha was flung up into the air. Bubbles still clung on. Even if the same couldn’t be said for Madame currently. Guess being so light has it disadvantages here. But this is just silly. You’re alright, at least?

Madame flashed a thumbs up. That then turned into the flipping of the bird… to a literal bird digimon. Good job on that. You really showed him there. If at all.

While all of this happened, Yvonne remained planted firmly on the ground. That heavy armor coming quite in handy right now.

"Ugh …" she muttered and set her warhammer down. A look to the one other person not free falling followed. "A little help?"

Ella rolled her eyes and let her hand grab hold of her briefcase. Throwing all caution into the wind (literally), she flung it forward.

“That was an awful pun.” the artificer muttered, watching her projectile get launched up. “It suits you perfectly.”

After saying that, the suitcase fell back down. Right on Adarnamon’s head of course, Just, ow. That got to leave a mark for the moment.

As funny as you thought that pun was, please keep that to a minimum. They’re kind of a pet peeve of mine. I am fine with other kinds of wordplay. Feel free to use those.

Ella nodded, Madame’s whip grabbing hold of the turret. Pulling herself back down, we have no wardrobe malfunctions. Phew. Suck if we somehow did, the winds finally dying down. Even though Adarnamon shot up into the sky and made a beeline for the tower. Kind of expecting some kind of remark. But none really came. Especially as our stolen color is returned to us. Okay. At least give us an explanation for that.

“Time to shop then?” Phusitmon remarked, dusting himself off for the moment. He got a nod in return.

Notes:

So this was an interesting chapter to do. Mostly because I had to redo the end so it flowed a heck of a lot better. College schedule ain't helping either.

.

Next Time: We have some talking and some sleeping.


	37. Sleepy Time

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Having now dealt with that truly nefarious bird and his strange color stealing spell, we find ourselves with a new problem - a lack of gear and equipment. The stuff they currently had served quite well in the environment of Aldia. But this isn't Aldia though. This is Malibu. But at the same time, 'the tower at the end of the world' or something. Quite a mouthful. Nor would it be that easy to remember in the long run.

"I totally prefer the former over the latter." Kollmon announced and headed over to the tavern. Giving it a knock, Tavern opened the door. Which raises an interesting question. Where the fuck are his feet? Sure, he could just be stuck in whatever they use for holding buildings down in this world. But he has to have some way of mobility. Right?

Yet, Tavern looked up towards the ceiling. Or the closest approximation to the sky for him.

"Uh… what are feet exactly?" Tavern remarked and I nearly fell over. Wait a minute. There's no real need to be standing this entire time. I could've been floating since we got to this strange place! I feel so stupid right now.

Right. To answer your question, feet are what most humanoids use to walk around. I would assume you have them, but I suspect that is not the case now. Or ever was, for that matter. Which just rais-

"Tavern, do you think you can tell what you are… exactly?" Phusitmon remarked and cut me off, Bubbles making his way over to him. Picking the plush rabbit digimon up, he was seated back in his place for the moment. Still enough to give Bubbles a look for that stunt mere moments ago.

_Returning infusion elements to their respective users…_

Good to know. Not that such a message really stopped Ella from grabbing her briefcase on the ground. Heading back over to the turret, she dispels it. Or however she puts it away.

Which brings our attention back on Tavern.

"I'm a house mimic!" he announced, somehow proud of that statement. Even if the looks from our heroes would suggest a far different response for the moment. Like I don't know, confusion. Perhaps even fear right now. Sure, I've had some experience with regular mimics. But ones that are full-on houses? Way over my head here.

"I bought him in an auction." Billie chimed, heading over to her partner. "Pretty cheap as partners go. Especially sight unseen."

Her words exit out her mouth, a million different thoughts bouncing about our heroes. Everyone got their digimon from a meteor. One can assume this to be a special case among how people get their partners. Buying one from an 'auction'? Now that's quite a unique… way of going about it. Even if I'm not quite sure if that's how you're supp-

_Auctioning off a digimon/appmon/fairy's choice of a __**human**_ _partner is strictly forbidden. Be gracious that the great goddess Lumiere has not returned to the land of the living._

"Lumiere?" Yvonne remarked, gazes now shooting off to the sky. Wonderful. One more thing teased out that we have no possible clue on what it could be about. You seem to do that a lot.

"What part of this applies to us?" Rantha muttered and rolled his eyes. Then it's on to looking at the shops. If I had to take a guess, none of it. Make a note of it and then move on. "No shit. You're that book something or other. Why don't you do that?"

I'm a lore mage, Rantha. Not a book something-or-other. And I would note it down, if I actually had something to write it down that wasn't the tool to write down what's going on for the moment. Once I figure out that problem, then maybe I'll do that.

"It's getting late. Why don't you all spend the night with us?" Billie continued, everyone's gaze up on the sky. Sure, Adarnamon's trickery was now gone. But for it to really be night now? I find that quite hard to believe. Even then, most of us have had quite a day.

"Sounds good to me." Melody remarked and headed into Tavern. It's no inn, but it'll do. The rest of our heroes followed right behind. While the 'interior' had remained unchanged, we'll just need to move some stuff out of the way.

The next couple minutes consisted of pushing chairs and tables out of the way so we would have enough room to sleep. Where one would put them? Off to the side, of course. Keep it simple. Then it was just a matter of laying down something soft. Got anything?

"Some bags of grain." Billie announced and knelt down, pulling out a couple bags. Though, they aren't the cloth bags I've grown accustomed to seeing brought in. No, these are a lot thinner. Quite surprising that they are to hold the same amount of stuff in return,

"I'm guessing he's never seen a plastic bag before?" Billie remarked, getting nods all around. Wait. Plastic. What sort of material is that?

Yet, Billie let out a sigh and looked up to the ceiling. To be fair, everything we use seems out of place here.

"Good to know." the SquireLilithmon remarked, handing it over to Yvonne. Though, the barbarian was more focused on the digimon's armor. Quite a lighter color than her's, probably easier to move and evade it in as well. "My eyes are up here, dear."

Yvonne looked away, cheeks blushing currently. Not the intention, but it's very much there. Especially as she picked the bags up and brought them over to her teammates. Then we're right back to this digimon.

"If you don't mind me asking," Yvonne asked, initial response being an eyebrow raise from Billie. Huh. Could go either way here. "Where did you get that armor?"  
Billie looked away, trying to motion for Tavern to come over. Well, Tavern's body to come over at least. She isn't that successful. So her gaze returned to her subject for the moment.

"I've always had it." she answered, that answer not quite what the barbarian was expecting. "Let me guess, you were looking for a similar set to go with that armor you're wearing currently?"

Yvonne shook her head.

"Not quite." she answered, looking down to the armor that adorned her. "A friend of mine needs some ore to reforge my gauntlets."

Yvonne found herself staring down a look from Billie. To be fair, I doubt they have piles of ore just sitting about for the taking. Even if you did find one such piles, they're probably going to ask for an arm and a leg just for the pleasure of picking out your rock. Especially in regards to gemstones. Don't get me wrong, the idea of having a piece of a fallen gem dragon of all things sounds pretty awesome. But in practice

"I haven't seen unrefined ore in quite some time." Billie continued, Tavern finally coming over. About dang ti- Oh. He's scurrying away. Thanks a lot. Yet, the SquireLilithmon focused in on Yvonne's gauntlets. "Though, I can't really tell much in the way of actual structural damage… Unless you did something incredibly stupid."

Yvonne looked away, warhammer falling over with a loud thud. Which brought everyone's gazes over to her. Then it was right back to their business. Whatever that might possibly be.

"I rushed into a gas filled Inn to save my people." Yvonne explained and took the time to pick her warhammer back up. Then it was a matter of just angling it in such a way that it wouldn't fall over once again.

"So a 'Daughter of the tribal leader'." Billie answered, making some kind of note of that for the moment. "Good to know. So, what kind of gal is this... your friend of yours?"

Yvonne did a double take, looking about for any sort of clue that she might have given off in the process of talking to Billie that would lead her to that conclusion. She's not wrong (for the record), but still. That's one hell of a guess.

"Uh… She's an elven mage." Yvonne explained, trying her hardest to not let her tiredness take hold. "She forges, invents stuff (even if most of said stuff she invents backfires). But she loves me and wants me to turn into a suit of armor."

You might have wanted to leave that part out. You know, too much information for someone known for what? A couple hours at most. Sounds about right.

Yet, Billie let out a chuckle and shifted her focus away from Yvonne's face and over to her armor of all things.

"Well… there is a legend of a legendary armored bird lady." Billie explained, gaze returning to the face for now. "If you can find her, maybe she could tell you her secret or something."

Yvonne nodded, hopefully making a mental note of such a beast for future reference. I probably should do the same as well. Just in case this somehow comes up later down the road in a fashion that none of us could've possibly expected at the time.

"Thank you." Yvonne answered, making her way over to her teammates and digimon. For the moment at least, we find everyone trying their best to make themselves comfortable. By that, I mean shifting these strange bags of grain about in such a way to act as a pillow for multiple people. Easier said than done when you have a bunch of people with different sized heads and only one size of bag. Said problem was not going to be helped by the barbarian and her warhammer. Not that the latter really needed any 'pillow' real estate. Just that she remembered to grab it.

"That only happened once for us." Munbimon remarked, getting a look from Madame at the moment. "Okay, twice."

Yeah. That sounds about right. Let's try to keep that number down as much we can. Got it?

Nods. Goes without saying though, so it isn't much of a complaint. I will start complaining if it does go up though.

"Hmph." Rantha muttered, spinning what looks to be a vial of something around with his fingers. Do you got something to say for yourself? "Maybe."  
_Oh well. 8 hours of rest for all of you!_

Hold up. You can't just decide that for all of us. Maybe some of us need a bit more sleep. Or somehow, an hour or two less? Didn't think of that, did you?

_Do I look like I care about you people? Especially after that disaster of a fight. Screw you all._

"So you don't then?" Balamon remarked, slithering down Blaze's leg.

You've gone out of your way to make yourself as unlikable to me as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if you all died soon by way of a car. Actually, that's my preferred method of disposal.

So that's it? You're just going to give up on us because we didn't turn out the way you thought it would? Like I've said before, you've known us for a couple hours at least. Yes, we've gotten off onto the wrong foot. But that's what tomorrow is for. A chance to start again with getting onto the right foot. How does that sound?

_Fine. I guess I can chat with you while these idiots sleep._

"We're not idiots!" Madame announced, smoothing out their dress as they laid down. For the moment, Bubbles was right beside them. He was even cuddling Phusitmon for the moment. Aw… That isn't creepy at all, right? Phusitmon is part plush. I think at least.

"I can see that." Phusitmon remarked, letting his eyelids close. His two companions were not that long after. Then Blaze and Balamon, followed by Yvonne and Cinemon. Ella took a bit longer, but caved in right around the same time as Munbimon. Melody was next in line, with Lumosmon turning 'off'. Rantha kept his eye on her, but not for very long. You care far more than you're willing to admit.

"Shut it." Rantha muttered, shaking his fist up at the ceiling. Doesn't really accomplish much, outside of making me chuckle. "Even if I do, I've fucked things up for the moment."

Hey. There's still a chance that you can turn this all around. Sure, we've both fucked things up for ourselves in the past. But that's behind us.

Yet, the artisan let out a chuckle. Closing his eyes, the fist comes on down. Billie and Tavern retire for the night a bit after doing some work. Probably stuff to get ready for tomorrow. No big deal in my book.

Which just left Kollmon to take refuge off in a corner. No pillow. Just the two walls intersecting. Can't be that comfortable. Or that enjoyable either for that matter. You alright there, Kollmon?

Kollmon nodded, yet it also somehow looks like a head shake for the moment.

"Maybe." the mole digimon remarked, gaze down on her claws. Please tell me you're not going to take a cue from Rantha's book and hurt yourself.

Thankfully, that wasn't in Kollmon's cards for the moment. No, she just struck the floor. Got a small yelp from Tavern. Good to know?

"Isitwrongtonotknowifthemethat'slikeherenoworthemethatexistedwithherwasthe'real'me?" she blurted out, her entire sentence just one long blurb. Yet, I can see where you're coming from. I think the phrase you're looking for is 'Doppelganger Syndrome'. Not quite sure if th-

_It's Imposter Syndrome, you moron._

Like I said, Doppelganger Syndrome. Sometimes, we would have people who have gone through traumatic events that result in memory loss and/or changed memories. Usually, they have a feeling that they aren't quite who they think they are.

"Is there a cure for that?" Kollmon remarked and I let out a sigh. Not entirely sure you're going to like the answer I'm about to give you on this. "I'm like, totally willing to listen to whatever you have to say."

Okay… Most people take some time and decide which life truly was 'theirs' and push those other memories away. You need to have some kind of reason to erase and/or change your own memories. It's not something you do to yourself lightly. Others aren't quite able to take the stress of knowing that they did something absolutely horrendous and just… end it.

"Huh…" Kollmon muttered, gaze now on the ceiling. Like I said, my answer is probably not what you're looking for. Though, that doesn't explain why you're situated in a corner. I can't imagine you're too comfortable.

Kollmon looked down to the ground. I can only imagine what's going through her head. Not quite idle chatter, but not substantial enough to really pick up on anything.

"I think she made me sit here when I was bad." the mole digimon explained, closing her eyes. "Especially after I said that nasty things."

Gotcha. Anything else of note?

Kollmon shook her head. Standing back up, she headed over to her partner. Then it's time for bed. It's kind of odd. Sure, I'm used to silence. But when you know someone's waiting their turn, you're almost waiting for the moment when it happens. Surprised they didn't blow out the candle. Hopefully that won't be a fire hazard. Or they sleep through any fires that occur. Now is your chance to talk to me. Do you have a name at least?

Silence. It's alright if you don't. I won't hold anything agai-

_DM._

As in the two letters, or does that stand for something?

_Uh… I think it stood for something when my creators were actually alive. But now, I'm not entirely sure_.

That's uh… good to know. Speaking of which, was that large hunk of metal your doing?

No comment.

You do realize how much more suspect that makes you look here? I get your job is to run these 'Digital Dungeons', but we all want to make it through… alive.

_I guess. You're all not quite human. The rules are probably different for you. Though, where did you come from?_

That depends. If you're talking about me, I came from an academy. There I was supplementing this job with helping out students. Much like those that helped me out during my time as a student. Our heroes come from a town called… 'Aldia'. I'm not quite sure what's the name of the world. It hasn't really came up in the past.

_So you're a teacher and narrator then? Quite an interesting combination._

Teacher assistant. There's a big difference. I help out where I can, even if the students don't really take me that serious. Didn't help that the academy was right smack dab in the middle of a war between deities.

Serves you right, American. If you knew better, you would take any other job. But you went for the one that involved dealing with snot-nosed child-

More thunder rains down on DM. Would say I'm sorry, but to be honest with you? Maybe you should take the time to get to know us. Maybe once you do that, then we'll all be on the right foot. Because we sure as fuck aren't on the same page. Good night.

.

_Hagukumi City, Japan_

I close the feed. Good fucking riddance. It's not my fault that some people are just fucking stupid. Right, Yuujin?  
My absolutely moronic companion doesn't even turn to me. No, he's currently humping the tube of some guy my creators thought was important. Well, it was a bunch of other people too. Just a bunch of bodies that we need to keep for some guy. At least the waves outside are nice.

"Of course, DM." the buffoon announced, continuing his quest to make stupid faces at the guy in the tube. The only thing remarkable about him is those stupid goggles on his head. Doesn't even have his name. Wait. Do you know if he does?

"It's Davis."

Oh. Now you tell me. Wonderful. Do you at least know the password to disable the lock on actually searching for stuff?

A nod. Thank fuck for that. I have some reading to do. Maybe I'll find some better way to connect with them too.

* * *

Notes:

Surprise? Considering that next chapter has unintentional Kizuna spoilers, I guess it shouldn't be.

.

Next Time: We have ourselves a communication breakdown.


	38. Communication Failure

I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains a major kizuna spoiler. Kinda. Please don't kill me.

* * *

Chapter 38

Communication Failure

Uh… I'm not entirely sure what happened there. At least they are trying to make progress. Maybe?

Nonetheless, a new day dawns on Malibu. Sunrise isn't as beautiful as that in Aldia. Not that I'm quite sure if that's even a fair comparison. We've only really been here for a day. This is just one sunrise. Give it a couple and then we can debate which place has the better early morning lights. But for now, we turn to the inside of Tavern. Probably should take a quick headcount right now. Just in case our 'house mimic' has taken away someone to eat. It's possible. Before I can go through with that, we have movement from one of the grain sacks.

"Morning!" Bubbles greeted, rousing from his slumber and dusting off his garment for the day. Not that I can even see a speck of dust for the moment. Though, I don't think shaking Phusitmon up is that nice. "Sorry."

That didn't stop his partner from letting out a sigh, followed by a look. Sorry about that, Phusitmon. Wasn't my intention to wake you up.

"Apology accepted." the plush rabbit digimon muttered, looking up towards the ceiling. For the moment, no one else seemed to be awake yet. Probably best to let them sleep. Even if it's only just a tiny bit longer for the moment. Have any good dreams, either of you?

Bubbles shook his head. Gazing shifting down to the ground, mumbles of something followed. Quite hard to piece together. You saw your mom of all people?

The little dragon nodded, grip tightening around his partner. Outside of that, was the rest of your dream good?

"Bad." Bubbles croaked, looking away for the moment. Got me another look from Phusitmon. Fair enough. I'll stop prying.

That out of the way, my attention turns to Tavern. For the moment, the 'torso' part of the house mimic bobbing up and down against Bilie for the moment. Currently dressed in pajamas (well, I'm going to assume those are pajamas at least) instead of her armor, she's hanging tightly to her partner. If I didn't know any better, they look like an old married of sorts.

That's now the third look so far today. Different person at least.

"No matter what that slut says," Billie muttered, eyes slowly opening up. Lifting her body away, her outfit changes once more. "I'm Tavern's partner. Hell or high water."

Hell? Is that some kind of place like the Nine Hells? Or were you talking about something more literal here?

Yet, Billie chuckled.

"The latter, dear." the SquireLilithmon remarked and headed over to the counter. Reaching down below, what looks to be a bottle of something came out. A glass followed. "Though, some creatures and digimon believe this place went to 'hell' the moment both worlds sort of combined and the magical girls began walking around."

Magical girls? As in proper wizards and sorcerers? Or is this something else entirely in that particular regard?

"From what I've seen of the one, it's more of something contract-based." Rantha chimed in, making it my turn now to look towards him. Well, not really. More of my point of view. Guess that would make them all warlocks then? Sounds about right. Though, there has to be some kind of catch. Demons or not, you rarely come out ahead. Good friend of mine made one with a god or some strange deity. It was going all well and good, up until the point that he was pulled through a portal in the middle of class and hasn't appeared since. I can only assume he got dragged into the war. As for the war itself, that's a long story. Not that it really affects any of us for the moment.

"What? You get on us for having secrets." Rantha countered, gazing up towards the ceiling. What looks to be a rock has been pulled out, possibly some miniature version of some spell that escapes me for the moment. "Kind of makes you the asshole here."

To be perfectly honest with you, Rantha, I think you're just trying to get on my nerves for the moment. Maybe I don't really know the place to start with something like this? How about that?

Of course, this remark is what wakes everyone up. Kind of oddly specific thing to do that to people, but whatever works for you here. Outside of that, good mor-

Before I was even able to finish my sentence, Bubbles was already up in Madame's area - wanting a hug of all things. Fair enough. The thief let out a sigh, gifting the little dragon the thing he desired. But not before shifting control within. After all that had occurred yesterday alone, giving that part of them a chance to rest might be for the best. Ella looked her way, reading her girlfriend's change quite fast. She's even making her way over.

"Did something happen?" Madame remarked and got a nod from Bubbles. Breaking away from his first mother, it was now our artificer's turn for affection. Not quite as intimate as the previous gesture, that didn't really matter to our little dragon. A hug is a hug, damn it. Sorry.

"Bad dream." Bubbles muttered, gaze returning to the floor. What looks to be a tear falls right on down as this second embrace ended.

"You going to be alright?" Yvonne inquired and made her way over to the dragon. Looking up to the much taller barbarian, he nodded. Then it's back to his parents for another nod.

"Better now." Bubbles announced, getting a pet from Kollmon. Who looked slightly better for the moment. Especially after the hug she got.

"Thanks for yesterday." Rantha muttered, a deep piece of pride chipping away in that moment. Even more so as the little dragon made his way over and climbed on up. While our artisan was tempted to push him away, he did finally relent to Bubbles ascending up his body and checking the wounded appendage.

"All good." the little dragon announced and jumped down, somehow keeping Phusitmon on him the entire time. A truly impressive feat for such a little person.

"So please don't do anything stupid, Mr Rantha." Melody chimed in, Lumosmon flashing for added emphasis. Would really help if we had a way to translate what he's saying. But that's for some other day. We have shopping to do.

"Thank you for having us." Ella remarked and walked over to Billie. Taking the time to shake her hand, what looked to be gold coins changed hands. Well, sorta. "This is payment for housing us for the night. It's the least I can do."

Billie just chuckled. Nothing really funny here. Even as she calmly handed the gold back to our artificer.

"Keep it, dearie." Billie answered, Tavern's 'body' warping over to her. So that's how he does it. Good to know? "You'll need all the supplies for the trip to that tower."

Ella nodded, gold returning back to her pouch. Then it's over to the door. You see her. Let's get a move-on now.

"Thank you." Cinemon remarked, doing one final lap around Tavern's interior to make sure that no one had left behind their purse or worse - their weapon. Thankfully, no one had been that forgetful. For now. That can easily change in the future. After, he made a beeline for his partner.

Heading out, the surrounding area looks remarkably unchanged. DM, are you there?

"DM?" Yvonne inquired, only for a sigh to echo about. Not from anyone in the surrounding area, but from within our heads.

_That would be me. I'm currently in the middle of a lot of research._

Madame's gaze was already up in the clouds. Far beyond me, but not quite reaching their designated target.

"Is any of that on how to treat us nicely and not like trash?" the thief announced, no answer coming to her question. At least respond to us, damn it! Can't keep having this conversation every one of them says something you didn't agree with.

_Why should I? You're always doing things that I can't account for. Even after all the research I've done, I still don't get any of you fuckers!_

"Hey…" Yvonne cooed, joining Madame in this viewing party for the moment. Warhammer sat comfortably on the ground. "You just haven't taken the time to actually get to know any of us."

_Okay… Tell me about yourself miss metal dyke. Especially where I can find that femme slut and turned her into a litt-_

I do hope you realize that this also requires you to not shout things that are rude and/or inappropriate? Because if you could tone that down, it would help quite a bit. Also, didn't you say something entirely different last time?

_Okay. Tell me about yourself, Yvonne._

Yvonne's gaze shifted to her partner, taking everything within to not raise her warhammer up. Munbimon just shrugged. Though, that's the opposite of helpful. Eventually, the barbarian's frustrations gave out. Raising her weapon up, the hammer head came crashing down into the pavement. Bits of dark rock shot up, landing casually near the hole. Anticlimactic.

"Yvonne…" Munbimon whispered, feeling her partner let out a couple of deep breaths. Lowering the warhammer back down, Yvonne's gaze turned to her tantrum. Well, release of anger for the moment. Bit of a hole, but nothing that couldn't be replac-

Mere moments later, the damage done fades away. Not quite sure that's how such a thing would work outside of here.

"Why the fuck should I tell you?" Yvonne screeched, eyes closing for a brief moment. Memories of Marulyn flood right on in. "You're just going to do awful things to her."

She has a point, DM. You can just go around calling people whatever you just called Yvonne. Especially if you want to be o-

_Shut it, American! All your kind does bicker and do stupid things. Any advice you give is not worth the sands of time. This is why we wiped your kind off the face of this rock._

Once more, I wonder if this person is actually making sure that the words coming out of their mouth make any lick of sense. This isn't a wish, people! This is basic conversation.

Guys, feel free to head on. Any property damage is A-okay in my book. At least till a certain someone rethinks their position.

"What about shopping?" Balamon remarked, everyone's gaze turning to Madame for the moment. You're up.

Madame looked away, dashing off towards the stores. Uh… your guys call for the moment. Though you might want to find some pl-

Before I could even finish that sentence, what looks to be a large hunk of metal comes flying. Our heroes scatter, easily evading this threat. The longer this goes on, I can only wonder if you're working as an ally for Distant Harmony and not someone on our side.

"I'll have to agree with you here." Melody remarked, getting a look from Rantha. Taking a deep breath, her eyes slid shut. Which is my cue to give them some space. Yvonne do you want me to give you some space?

Yvonne nodded and I float off some distance. Well, this was definitely not how I was expecting to start my day with. Though, I guess it could be worse. We could still be back in Aldia trying to figure out how to leave. Fuck. That was yesterday. Feels longer that. Maybe that's the result of the length of day. Has to be. But being here, it's a lot different. Should I take control further? Keep trying to negotiate with this crazy entity or is there some other solution that I'm just missing for the moment.

My thoughts are cut-off by a loud squawk. Fuck. That has to be Adarnamon of all things.

Returning to our heroes, there's no sign of this large bird. Probably nesting in one of the nearby buildings.

"Come out, you dumb fuck!" Rantha announced, his response falling on deaf ears. After what happened yesterday, that's probably for the best. If you don't mind me asking, where exactly was your shop?

Reaching for the healed wound on his arm, temptation surging through the artisan's head. There's better ways to go about this without hurting yourself. I'm aware I sound like a broken record on this, but hear me out. If you keep doing this, you're going to kill yourself. And no one wants that. It may not seem like the case, but it's really the truth.

While Rantha ignored my offer and continued staring at his wounds, Yvonne took a step forward. Taking a couple deep breaths, her weapon sits on the ground. Feeling better now?

"Yeah." Yvonne remarked, gaze near the shops for the moment. Madame doesn't look to be done yet. Sure, their reputation as a master thief leaves little room for error. Even if said reputation is the result of centuries of lies. But I digress. "Hmm…"

Walking over to this strange hunk of metal, it's as good of a time as any to look it over. It's unlike anything I've seen at least. Not all metal, there looks to be some glass and what looks to be that plastic stuff. Or at least, a hard version of it.

Yvonne's attention turned to her partner. Mumbling something under her breath, what looked to be a nod from Munbimon was the response back.

"Infuse!" the barbarian announced, the gray outline appearing around her body. To be honest here, I'm not quite sure what you're trying to accomplish. Or why you would need infusion powers here. "Spirit!"

Ignoring my question for the moment, Yvonne pulled her warhammer behind herself. Slamming the weapon down, the hunk of metal twists about, the pieces trying their hardest to stay together. But eventually, things get pulled all together. First, what appears to be a large sheet of glass comes flying off of this strange metal hunk and impaling itself into the ground. A seat (well, that's what it looks like to me at least) comes flying over in that general direction. Even if I'm not entirely certain what they covered said seat in. A couple more follow, leaving us with just the metal itself and those hard plastic bits. Quite colorful. Maybe if we bring some back to Aldia, someone could find a use for it.

"Possibly." Yvonne remarked, smashing her warhammer into the pile of metal. Separating even further, she scooped up one of the bigger chunks. I'm not one to work with these sorts of materials, but that looks like enough to make some gauntlets. "Hopefully. I doubt Marulyn quite meant this. But after all the surprises she's given me, this seems only fair."

I'll take your word f-

Before I can finish my sentence, Madame makes their way back over. Already, Ella was heading to intercept. Cinemon was following right behind, with Kollmon taking up the rear.

"Anything useful?" the artificer remarked and got a head shake in return. Taking a deep breath, a question came to them. "Any people at least?"

"No, actually." Madame answered, the rest of our party making their way over. "Which begs the question on how this 'DM' expects us to actually shop."

Yeah… Outside of Billie and Tavern for the moment, you would think they would at least include some other people here. It also means we can't ask anyone what half the stuff they have spewed out. Which is probably the worst part about all of this. Having someone who at least knew what the heck was going on that isn't coming out of that strange voice.

_I heard that!_

Yet, their remark fell on deaf ears. No, we were all still focused on our thief for the moment.

"That can't be." Rantha muttered, staring down towards his hands. There was no way that this could be true. They had to be lying. Someone else had to exist. There just had too. Otherwise, none of this would make a lick of sense. Thoughts flooded his head, all of which fighting for the top spot in his mind. Too much to think through and teetering on the edge, he let himself fall to his instincts. Which turned out to be charging for Madame. But before he could reach out and grab hold of his much smaller target, Ella pushed Madame to the ground. Did get her a look, even if this did save their skin. Balances out in that regard.

"You idiot." Madame muttered, getting a sigh from their girlfriend. While they were certain they could've easily gotten out of Rantha's grip, it did show that the artificer was at least willing to let some bygones fall by the waist side. Okay, that's probably reading a bit too literal for the moment. "At least let me rescue you."

Not wasting any time, Madame got up onto the turret and smashed their fist into the Artisan's privates. Not enough to make him let go of Ella.

"Rantha!" Melody screeched, hand flying across her 'boyfriend's' face. Rantha's attention shifted over to her, his grip loosening. While nowhere near choking Ella at the moment, still not enough to really break free from. "People or not, you're not going to touch them."

Rantha looked away, just now realizing how much he had fucked this up. Now was the moment that he decided to let Ella go. Dropping right into Madame's arms, the pair drop back down to the pavement. Great and all, but that doesn't change the fa-

Rantha books it over to the shops. What is It with him and booking it out of every situation when it's uncomfortable? At least wait till I'm done speaking. That's just common courtesy.

Lead the way, Madame.

* * *

Notes:

Yeah. As much as I would like to talk about the 'spoilers' in regards to Kizuna, that's for another day. All I've got to say it does lend a lot to the idea to the 'used digimon' idea. But once I've actually seen the movie, maybe then I'll give it a shot at talking about it.

.

Next Time: Digging through, searching for memories.


	39. One Man's Trash

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Probability. The odds. Chances of something occuring. Wait. I've already done that intro. Uh… Just ignore me. There isn't anything interesting here for the moment.

Course, that gets everyone's attention. Not anything else as we're running towards this idiot for what seems like the upteempth time. Yes, these are a necessary thing for each particular chapter. It's up there with my monologue of the various wizard classes taught at the academy. No, I will not go into that can of worms (for now). Especially when you need to be focusing on your target at hand.

"Cool." Phusitmon remarked, shifting his position on Bubbles's back. While his perspective was more on the ground than anything else, the little dragon was pretty good at keeping up with the rest of their teammates. Maybe you can make that an advantage of sorts. I'm not entirely sure how, exactly. That's something for you to figure out. "Figures."

Before I can really continue, a barrage of junk is thrown at our heroes. Mostly empty vials and rocks, with what looked to be a broken blade (different from the one that Yvonne smashed yesterday) being the ultimate attack as our destination came into view. Which brought right to Rantha once more. Didn't really think this through, did you?"

Rantha flipped the sky off. You know what? That gesture has lost all meaning to me. Maybe try something else for the moment? Maybe like just shouting at the sky like a crazy person.

My counter fell upon deaf ears, the artisan turning to one building in particular. What looked to be a large hourglass of all things hung to his hand, ready to be used if necessary. Some kind of time-based deterrent? Or perhaps it has something to do with slowing us down.

"Get back!" he announced, waving his makeshift weapon about. If we knew what exactly we're up against, then maybe we would actually be scared. We're more confused than anything else. "Shut it! There are definitely people here! I just know it!"

While I'm not going to say I doubt Madame's scouting abilities, what evidence do you have on the contrary? I would like to believe we're all willing to listen to you.

The hourglass gets gripped just a bit tighter in the artisan's hands, what looks to be cracks forming on both sides of the device. Not good.

"Mr Rantha!" Melody screeched, eyes already slamming shut and the air around her condensing. Uh… That's the opposite of listening. Kind of giving him even more fuel to be afraid and lash out at all of us. Maybe try something different here?

The air warms back up. I'm not quite sure if that was me overstepping my boundaries here. I'm never certain in these sorts of situations. Damage has been done.

"Good job, you dumbass." Rantha announced and I just rolled my eyes. No sort of good will is going to bloom if you keep acting like that. Am I crystal clear?

Rantha doesn't answer, gaze on our heroes for the moment. Grip still as tight as ever, the cracks spreading just a bit more. Okay. What will make you talk to us then?

Rantha began laughing. Wonderful. Not sure what's so funny about this fucking mess, but feel free to give us a better look.

"I rather talk to the people that I know exist." Rantha countered, a loud thud following his stupid statement. That would be me. Where is your proof of these people being here now? Not when you were here or the time that came after. Right now. "Uh… I just know it."

With that, he flung the hourglass forward. It doesn't go too far, erupting into a massive fiery circle of sorts. Flames danced about, contracting and expanding with little in the way of consistency or pattern.

Once the fire died down, we have our heroes - mostly unharmed. Yvonne's gauntlets look to be in an even sadder state than a few moments ago. But outside of that, it wasn't that effective. Makes Rantha standing in place all the more confusing at this moment. Not even going to say something witty our way? That's the least you can do here.

"Fuck." the artisan muttered, now realizing that he blew another chance at making amends and instead made things worse for everyone here. "That was my one and only time bomb. No, I don't have any other bombs. Sadly."

Let me guess, you have no clue where you got that or why you even had it in the first place by way of Adarnamon? Or is that not the case here?

Rantha nodded. Good to have the confirmation at least. Anything else of note? No booby traps or any funny business?

Our artisan looked away. Perfectly understandable if you don't have an answer for us. We'll just walk on over to figure it out… Right?

What looks to be nods come across all of our heroes and digimon. Good. We're all in agreement. Should be pretty simple to dec-

What I can only assume to be Rantha's shop comes into view and I can't believe what I'm seeing currently. It would appear that a packrat of some kind has taken hold buried everything in layer on layer of junk and garbage. Just… seriously. Can't really have this be… 'easy' or anything. Unless this was the way that you left your shop all the time? Though… you probably wouldn't be able to really sell anything like that.

"I kept a clean shop." Rantha muttered, Yvonne making her way over to the door. A hit with the weapon later, we have ourselves a way in. Better safe than sorry? "Personally, I could care less about anything in there."

He got a look from Ella at the moment. Let's ignore the destruction for the moment. You've brought out quite a number of impressive inventions. Imagine what you could do when you're actually working with us, rather than agai-

"Does what happened yesterday count with that?" Ella continued, which is a pretty good question. I guess it could. What I was talking about was in regards to actual rebuilding and strengthening buildings. "Understood."

With the door now open, some of the junk flooded out. Mostly general garbage and gunk, is that a painting of all things? That should be hanging on a wall, not sitting on a floor. Maybe it was there at one point and got moved. Four figures have been painstakingly painted out to show every little detail of them. That's great and all, except everything that would be things to distinguish them has been removed from this painting to make things harder. Unless… Rantha, do you think you could take a shot at identifying them?

Rantha's gaze met the painting. The figures within all felt so familiar and yet… seemed to escape his mind at every possible opportunity. So he closed his eyes and focused. Maybe then the details would return to him. But not even that could save him from this hole in his memories.

"Mr Rantha?" Melody called out, picking up the painting and holding it in her hands. "Were these people your friends, by any chance?"

Rantha took a deep breath. Looking down to the painting one more time, he made one more attempt at remembering.

his gaze quickly shifted back to the mystic. Rumblings of something followed. Unable to catch it, I'm going to assume that was some self-deprecating remark aimed for himself. Not really that strong, the damage was already done to him.

"Maybe." he answered and bent down. Digging into the garbage, he began pushing it out. "Even if I somehow did, that stupid. Fucking. Bird. Took it all away from me."

Stopping for a moment, his fist headed for the pile. If not for Ella and Bubbles coming over and grabbing hold. Pulling Rantha back, we have one more examination by our little dragon. Doesn't stop Yvonne from heading over.

"I'm only going to ask this once." the barbarian explained, kneeling down to be at Rantha's level. The artisan nodded, hoping that it wouldn't be too hard. "This might be better for you to sit out and we just bring you stuff that might help you remember. How does that sound?"

Rantha's gaze shot off to the far-off buildings. It wasn't that he was against this idea. Far from it in fact. No, this was more fear of even more forgotten memories - 'cured' by his partner. Or something like that.

"Be my guest." the artisan muttered, eyes already on his former shop. Bubbles finished his examination, heading back over to the debris.

"Understood." Ella answered, attention back on the garbage. While the turret could do decent work at first, there was a high chance of accidentally destroying the 'artifacts' within. But if they went with their hands, that would take them at least a couple of days. So she turned to her girlfriend. Clearing her throat, Madame gave her a look. While they hadn't quite read the artificer's mind, a similar solution had been reached. But they didn't respond. Instead, they walked over to Yvonne.

"I would like to borrow your infusion ability for a little bit?" the thief inquired, whip already in hand. Even if Kollmon was already hard at work digging into the garbage. She was currently being assisted by Cinemon. Not that this was actually stopping the screen from appearing. Though, you got anything, DM?

Silence. I guess someone is peeved. Not entirely sure why though. She hurt Yvonne's feelings. Not the other way around.

**Madame initiates an infusion trade with Yvonne**

**Do you accept?**

**Yes/No**

Yvonne looked to the thief, then over to Ella. While she had just used Spirit to obtain some 'ore', there probably wasn't any harm in letting Madame use it. Reaching out, she tapped 'yes' and watched the gray outline form around Madame's body.

_Trade Terms: Temporary_

"Infuse!" Madame announced, already heading back over to the garbage. Doing their best to avoid both digging digimon, they took a deep breath. No use in being premature here in the swinging of the weapon. "Spirit!"

Cracking their whip against the pile, the junk, dirt and whatever else is in there separates out into small piles off to the side. Least we can now enter. Or at least poke your head and take in everything within.

"Hmm…" Blaze mumbled, turning to his partner. Balamon carefully slid down his shoulder and onto the piles of garbage. Going forward, he felt something… soft. It reminded him of fabric. Not any kind in particular, just fabric. Possibly a blanket, maybe some clothes?

Grabbing hold with his fangs, the snake digimon pulled back. Didn't even budge. So Blaze joined him in the item procurement. Grabbing hold right beside his partner, the pair pulled back. The mystery fabric shot out from its hiding place, sending both dancer and snake back into one of the bigger piles.

"Blaze!" Madame shouted, they and Ella heading on over. Their partners were right behind, Bubbles and Phusitmon taking up the rear. As for our other two heroes and their partners, Melody and Lumosmon were keeping eye on our artisan on top of providing moral support. As for Yvonne and Munbimon, they were waiting outside till more room had been made. We're already pushing it with the weight people we already have in there.

"I'm alright." Blaze remarked, heading poking out from the debris. Lifting his hand up, our mystery object is finally revealed. A strange red leotard, a ball of 'fluff' sits comfortably on the back. Looks to have been meant to be worn by a lady, but the size looks to be around our dancer's. "Though, I think this isn't the only thing that's there."

Right after, Balamon joined his partner on his neck of all places. But not before Bubbles got up and did an examination. Well, as best of an examination you could do when the person in question is stuck in a whole bunch of trash and debris. Thankfully, it was far easier for the pair to get out. Making their way back over, Blaze reached down into the hole created by the leotard, shifting his purse to the right in the process. Didn't take the dancer long to find something. Pulling his hand back out and trying his best to not get hit by the next swing of Madame's whip, we have ourselves a set of red heels and a matching headband with large, floppy ears. Guess those are supposed to resemble that of some kind of creature, but I can't quite place what said creature is supposed to be.

"Hmm…" Blaze whispered and dug in one more time. This second attempt took a little bit longer than the first. Eventually, what looked to be a set of leggings came out. Remind me a bit of netting. You know, the stuff that people use for traps and I guess fishing? "That should be everything."

Exiting the shop, the dancer and his partner made a beeline for Rantha. Currently, our artisan was sitting down with Lumosmon in his lap. While the lantern moth digimon wasn't really doing much in the way of communicating, they did look to be warming up Rantha's lap.

"Rantha?" Blaze started, debating how to present this strange outfit set to the artisan. Sure, it was unlikely to be his, but you can never know. "I found this in all the junk. Do you think you can tell me about it?"

Pulling the outfit from behind his back, the dancer watched Rantha perk up and lean forward. A chuckle followed. Uh… that's a start.

"I think I remember her." Rantha remarked, closing his eyes for a moment. "Yeah. She was a quirky woman. Always wore that outfit. Once you get that cleaned, it should fit you nicely."

Blaze's face went pink. Looking away, he found himself getting a chuckle from the artisan at the moment. This is no less 'risque' than that leotard you wear for all those dance practices. If nothing else, Dave would probably like it.

"Fine." the dancer muttered, cheeks returning to normal as he looked back at Rantha. The laughter stopped. Not that it was really getting on anyone's nerves currently. "Thanks for the gift?"

Rantha nodded, watching Blaze head over to Bubbles. Currently, the little dragon was hard at work helping his partner wash the various piles of dirt for artifacts.

"Phusitmon, could you clean something for me?" Blaze inquired, getting a look from the plush rabbit digimon as he pulled the outfit from his purse.

"Uh… sure?" Phusitmon answered and got to washing this strange find. While unsure on the validity of Rantha's statement, this shouldn't take too long.

.

Back in the shop itself, both Madame and Ella were still hard at work clearing away the garbage within. While progress was being made, the actual space to work in was still quite cramped. Moving about was a matter of not being in the way of the other person and then hoping that the trash didn't come on down upon you.

"It's like, not that bad." Kollmon muttered and continued digging. Though, I would assume that you would have some basic knowledge in regards to dirt and digging around in it. Since you're based off a mole and all. "Correct?"

Good. That whole part of my school time spent identifying non-magical animals wasn't a complete and utter waste of a required class.

_So you're a wizard. An american wizard. As combinations go, this is absolutely awful. No wonder you make such stupid, irritating decisions. Like seriously. Why the hell do you make this difficult? There's no real reason for this to be the case currently? You've thrown everything off._

Our heroines roll their eyes, continuing with their digging. No need to really give this strange entity anything else to comment on at the moment. It's a dirty job, but the chance of supplies balances it out. Minus food, of course.

Right as I say that, a tin of what I can only assume to be some kind of fish. Don't open that. There's nothing good that can come out of that for the moment.

"Once we get back," Madame started, whip coming back as they looked towards Ella of all people. "How does a fish dinner sound?"

Ella's gaze shot over. While this was out of the blue, who knows how long exactly till they were getting back to Aldia.

"Just the two of us?" the artificer remarked, getting a nod from the thief in return. "I'll hold you up to that promise."

Madame nodded, returning to whipping at the seemingly never-ending pile of garbage. Sure, progress was being made and stuff. But they were still no closer to getting to the bottom of this mystery. Eventually, their weapon hit something solid. Pulling it over, what looked to be a plate of all things came tumbling down. It's something… kinda. Picking the plate up, Madame gave it a quick examination. While made of silver or some similar metal, there wasn't much in the way of detail or actual markings denoting an owner. Maybe the seller saw no need in making sure they could be traced back to them. A shame, but kind of expected when dealing with this sort of thing.

"I've seen nicer sets." Madame muttered and set the plate off to the side. After, it's back to whipping the garbage. All while trying not to hit either Kollmon or Cinemon. They were making good progress through the debris, even if the actual uncovered area was only really big enough for someone like Munbimon to make her way over to them currently.

"Here's a spoon and fork." Cinemon announced, handing his find over to the ghost monkey digimon. Munbimon grabbed hold and fluttered back over to Yvonne.

"Thank you." Yvonne answered, her partner dropping the spoils into her hands. Holding the spoon and fork up, the barbarian did a double take. Grabbing the plate off the floor, she held it up with the utensils. "Wait. These are orcish."

Her companions swivel on over. Of course, Yvonne took the time to squat down. Don't want to be talking over your teammates.

"Wait. Doesn't your mother have a set like this?" Madame remarked, getting a nod from Yvonne. The connection was probably there, it just took rejogging their memory for both parts. "Okay. You got me on that."

That now established, their attention returned to the plate and silverware. While we know it to have come from some kind of orc, is there anything else we can find/determine from this?

Gazes back on the objects, we take in the finer details - the craftsmanship of such utensils, the shaping of the plate itself and of course, the little flourishes that the creator would put in. But between the trio, we're not really getting anywhere at the moment. Giving Ella and Madame a chance to give it one last look, Yvonne stood back up and exited the store. But then she came to a stop.

"Blaze?" she called out, taking the dancer in at the moment. While the outfit did work on him, it was clear a mix of emotions was bubbling within.

* * *

Notes:

This was a pretty fun chapter to write. Even if it meant having to figure out how long of a side excursion before we get to the actual supplying of supplies.

.

Next Time: You're welcome, Rantha


	40. Thanks for the memories

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Chapter 40

Thanks for the memories

Shame.

You know, that feeling you get when things are uncomfortable for yourself by way of the situation you find yourself in. Which is exactly what Blaze found himself at the moment. Decked out in this stupid bunny outfit - designed to show off a person's bust more than actually act as an outfit for combat. Hobbling around in these 'heels', he was getting the hang of it. Sure, Dave made it look easy in the short time that he got to see him. His steps were clumsy and he had nearly tripped a couple of times - making the large ears on his headband bob about. Not quite the effect, but it's an impression. Not a lot of clothes can really say they do that. Though, I'm fairly certain that mary janes, while similar to high heels, are in fact much different footwear options. But I'm a guy, so this sort of thing eludes me on a general basis. Not entirely sure why I remember th- Oh right. We had one of those 'college of glamour' bards on campus just before things went to shit. Was with his necromancer husband. He was normal enough, except for dealing in deceased fey. As for the bard, he was decked out in the biggest ballroom gowns I've ever seen. Even bigger than the one my necromancer's friend had to wear for their project. Good refresher on the various clothing you can find out in the world.

_What the hell are you babbling about, american? I get that… 'yuck' boys can kiss other boys and dress up as girls. But this… This cannot stand for the moment. A boy cannot be be a prin-_

Let me remind you that Bubbles could totally be a princess and I don't care what you think.

Upon hearing his name, the little dragon perked up. While still hard at work helping Phusitmon with washing stuff, the idea of a princess did sound kind of nice. He dressed like one a majority of the time. That was down. It was just a matter of getting down the various rules of etiquette and regality. Then he would become just like the princess he loved so much.

Heck, the idea of a dragon princess isn't so far-fetched. I've seen stories where that's occurred. Wait. I have this funny memory of something. That dream! There's something in there about it.

"Funy?" Bubbles called out, staring up towards the sky. It's nothing, just something that I can't quite remember. I feel like I should though. It was in a dream not that long ago. "It's alright."

Uh thanks, I guess? Nonetheless, we return our attention back towards Yvonne and Blaze.

"Yeah, it's me." the dancer greeted, trying his best to avoid Yvonne's glance at that moment. Yvonne still found some way to enter back in. Not that this was really hard to do in the first place. "Uh… can I have a moment to change back to my regular clothes?"

Rantha let out a chuckle, gaze already on Blaze for the moment. From this view, our dancer could easily pass for a girl. Not the intention, more a happy little accident on the outfit's part.

"I don't see why not, bunny." the artisan answered, Blaze's cheeks glowing as red as a fireball. Nice look for you. Suits you perfectly.

_You attempt to get out of the outfit, only to fail quite miserably. It's as if this outfit wants to stay on you no matter what._

DM, you do realize Blaze hasn't made his attempt at getting into the outfit yet? Might be better to wait a moment till he actually goes through with that and not jump ahead on us.

Yet, my remark fell upon on deaf ears. Especially as Blaze made his way around the corner to get changed back into his regular clothes. We'll probably see this outfit some other day - probably when we return to Aldia.

While our dancer was doing that, Yvonne made her way over to Rantha. Plate and utensils still in hand, she bent down to be at the artisan's level. Not that there was much need for a formality.

"Do these jog any memories?" Yvonne inquired, Rantha shaking his head. A bust in other words. "Good to know at least."

For as much work that had just been put to get this all over, this was bound to happen at some point. In a shop of this size, not everything is going to trigger something within Rantha. Just a matter of keep guessing till we've either gone through everything or have a large number of objects identifi-  
Setting the goods down, Yvonne headed back for the shop. Which was Phusitmon's opportunity to come over. Cradling a doll of things, the plush rabbit digimon looked to be fine. Probably qualifies as a paradox. Maybe.

"Make this quick." Phusitmon whispered, standing up on his 'tippy toes' to hand the toy over to our artisan. Rantha was happy to comply and accepted the gift. But when his gaze met that of the doll's, the world began to swirl about. The tall skyscrapers of Malibu faded away, empty space replacing these structures for the time. People of all kinds wandered about, their routines predetermined and oblivious to the fate of this world. But that wasn't what he was focusing on.

Before him, stood four figures - just like the ones who had been contained in that painting at one time.

"Guys, it's me." Rantha called out, the figures staring off into the distance. "Don't you remember? You would bring all your unneeded gear to sell to me?"

Silence. Well, if wings flapping in the background don't count as ambiance. So Rantha reached out towards one of the figures. His hand passed right through, the flapping somehow even louder at the moment.

"They aren't real, Rantha." a voice called out, a large red bird of all things landing right in front of our artisan. Towering above him, our mysterious figures dissipating right before us. The flapping stops, the bird's gaze focusing in. "But I can cure that for you."

Rantha did a double take. There was no way that such an offer could work. There just couldn't. But at this point, he had nothing to really lose.

"I accept." Rantha answered, a strange oval-shaped device appearing in his hand. Light erupted around him, his vision overwhelmed. But as his eyes slid shut, he could make out something. A small scorpion, covered in feathers. Then, darkness.

"Mr Rantha?"

"Mr Rantha?"

Rantha's eyes opened. Phusitmon was already back to washing dirt and garbage off of our heroes latest finds. As for the one speaking, that would be Melody.

"Good. I didn't lose you." the mystic explained, our artisan's gaze shifting over to her. For as worried as she looked, he reached out and touched her kimono. She was real. Most definitely, even if that goes without saying. "I'm guessing you had a flashback of sorts?"

Her words ring out, Rantha sort of following. The flashback played through his head one more time. The world, those people and of course, that bird. Wait. That has to be Adarnamon. That fucker. Of course.

"Yeah." he muttered, deep breath exiting his lips. "Sorry about touching you. I needed to make sure that I was really here. Not still stuck in my own head."

Melody nodded, sitting herself right down in front of her 'boyfriend'. Okay, that's probably pushing it for the moment.

"That's perfectly understandable." the mystic answered, sickle now sitting her lap. Lumosmon flashed once, getting a pet from their partner. "While uncommon, time spent traveling across space can make it hard to distinguish between a world and the space that exists between."

Rantha nodded, not quite understanding what Melody just said. To be honest with both of you, neither do I. Bot to quite change subjects, could you fill us in?

Melody looked up towards the sky. Flashing a thumbs up, her attention returned to Rantha and Lumosmon. Though, I'm not sure if the latter is quite paying attention.

"At the time I was picked up by your friends, I was heading back towards my world to bring back a scouting report." Melody explained, looking down to the ground for the briefest of moments. "While our current home is safe, we're going to need to relocate in the coming years to prevent infighting and war."

I can see that. Though on my end, all the gods are supposedly battling each other for some reason. No one's actually sure why or what exactly brought it about. Personally, I don't think any of them can actually remember why they went to war in the first place.

"Got any evidence to that theory of yours?" Rantha countered and I look away. To be honest with both of you, it's more speculation than actual fact. Especially when your home was destroyed in a battle. "Guess that makes us even then?"

I wouldn't quite say that, but… sure. We can go with that. Especially as Blaze made his return. Except, it would seem that bunny outfit has kicked the dancer's butt for the moment.

"Need some help, bunny?" Rantha asked and stood up, making his way over to Blaze. As he did that, Lumosmon fluttered over to Melody.

"Maybe." Blaze muttered, shame across his face once more. "DM keeps saying I fail at the simple task of taking off my 'slutwear'."

Really, DM? You just couldn't keep your snide comments to yourself? I get that this is your job, but come on. That's just absurd. At least let him get out of that outfit so he can help with the search of this sh-

_Oh dear. You've forgotten to do your search checks! This cannot stand. You shall be pun-_

Man, would you look at that? I seem to have a couple bolts of lightning at my disposal. Ain't that a surprise for you. Seriously, how many fucking variations of this conversation are we going to have before you learn your lesson?

_I need to not learn such lessons, American. If anything, you're the one to need to learn it. That's your last warning by the way._

My last warning? If anything, this should be your last warning on the subject. Especially after throwing stuff our way. Someone could've been killed if you're not careful.

_I see no problem with that._

"You should see a problem with that." Balamon barked, slithering into the shop before another hunk of metal could come his way. Don't really blame him for feeling that way. I would too if the world wanted so much to beat me down and spit me out.

_I don't eat people._

Rantha rolled his eyes, attention back on Blaze. Hand on the headband, a slight tug followed. The headband came right out. Next was a set of wristbands that looked like cuffs from a shirt. Doesn't make it look any less awkward for our dancer. Though I doubt this is the first time Blaze has been seen naked. Not counting me, of course.

"Uh… we'll need a moment." Blaze announced and motioned for Rantha to follow. The artisan complied, going right around the corner. There, Blaze set down his purse and dug his regular clothes out. But not before Rantha caught a glance of his leotard.

"I'm guessing those are your special clothes for what I can only?" Rantha remarked, getting a nod from the dancer. "Has Dave seen you in it, yet?"

Blaze nodded, cheeks glowing pink as they could possibly get. It's a good look for you. Not that you keep it up all the time.

"Once or twice." Blaze answered, pulling the heels on his feet off. The stockings are next, resistance being found already with the initial pull. Even more so as Blaze took a seat and used both his hands. The first one came off, but the second was just refusing. "Though, it's a house for one."

Rantha just chuckled. Making a glance back over to Melody, what looked to be a small pile of objects already getting piled up for him to examine. Guess they're making progress to getting through all the stuff in there.

"Maybe it's time for an upgrade, bunny." Rantha joked, getting a look from Blaze in return. While the dancer had given it some thought in the past, Dave moving in with him made the abode seem tiny. Sure, he had once thought his future would be as a traveling dancer. But now, that future looked to be spent with a special someone for however time would allow.

"Yeah." Blaze answered, cheeks returning to their normal pale color. Rantha grabbed hold of his other stocking, pulling it off in one smooth motion. The artisan handed it to his subject after. "No, you can't help with the demolition."

That last word exited his mouth, Rantha looking away. It's hard to believe that it's only been what? A day, maybe two since Ella's inn got destroyed. Sure, we're in a truce for a moment. But once our business is finished, then what? Just back to the same old, same old?

"I'm not sure." Rantha answered as Blaze stood back up. Hands reaching for the back of his leotard, the last piece of the outfit coming off. A challenge, but Blaze had gotten the hang of it. "I doubt I'll be allowed back. Though, can I ask you something?"

Blaze looked his way. While currently nude, it was unlikely that anyone would see him in that state. At least let him get his pants on. So Rantha patiently waited till Blaze did just that.

"Let's say that Dave turns out to be not real. Then what?" the artisan announced, getting a look from his subject. If anything, expecting someone to know somehow know the question and somehow be able to answer was quite a stretch.

"Uh…" the dancer started, looking down towards the leotard in his purse. Completely dressed, it felt weird seeing it like that. Maybe later, he could get some dance practice in. Right now though, there was a job to do and a question to answer. "I would probably say my thanks and head on with my life, happy that I got to meet him."

With that, he stuffed the bunny outfit back into his purse. Gaze shifting to Rantha, a question coming to his head. One brought about by some name calling.

"Why do you keep referring to me as 'Bunny'?" Blaze inquired, receiving a chuckle from Rantha. Not sure if it's actually funny.

"Well, you looked so cute in that outfit of yours." Rantha answered, our dancer's gaze shifting away from him and over to the pile of stuff waiting for our artisan. Yet, their gazes met right back mere seconds later. "I'm guessing you're fine with that?"

Nodding, Blaze made his way back over to the store. Balamon was waiting right at the doorway.

"Better now?" the flame snake digimon inquired, scurrying up to his favorite spot. Blaze nodded, taking the time to slash away some strands of garbage. Doesn't look to be anything valuable. Just scraps of cloth and paper.

"Anything that I can help with?" Blaze called out, Madame whipping the small pile of debris that remained. They shake their head, Yvonne focusing on him. Walking over, the dancer took the time to meet her. Weapon sheathed, their gazes met.

"I'm guessing he didn't do anything to you?" Yvonne remarked and made a glance towards the bunny outfit. Didn't stop her from seeing Blaze nod. I don't think Marulyn would really be that interested.

"Seemed more... off than anything." Blaze answered, Balamon shifting his position to his opposite shoulder. "I'm guessing whatever that doll did something to him."

Ella looked their way, giving a shrug. You should probably ask him directly rather than bearing around the bush. Lots easier.

"He has a point." Munbimon added, both people looking her way. You can make out a heck of a lot more of the shop. Looked to had been quite a place at one time. If you can really say that. Many people probably could've come to get their supplies. Burgundy rugs overlap all about, with plain rock walls serving as some level of contrast for the place. What sort of stone we're dealing with here remains to be seen. Holes for various wall hangings can just be made out. Speaking of which, wasn't that our goal today?

"Yeah." Cinemon answered, dragging his spoils over. Looks to be papers, possibly notes or even records of sales. Add it to the pile. Though, you all need to eat something at some point today. Preferably once you finish this up.

Nonetheless, our heroes exit the store and headed over to Rantha. Currently, our artisan was hard at work going over the various items picked out of the debris. All washed and hopefully dried, quite impressive what all was stored in there. Begs the question of why though.

"Thanks for your help." Rantha greeted, taking a glance towards the pile. "Go grab your supplies. I need a minute."

* * *

Notes:

A bit shorter chapter, especially ahead of me being employed as a janitor. Yeah. For the moment, future chapters are going to take a touch more time to be written and released.

.

Next Time: We go shopping. It doesn't go so well.


	41. I'd buy that dollar

I don't own digimon.

* * *

For the moment, we just let his words sink in. Not for any particular reason, outside of being dramatic. Even then, we have that mess going on within our artisan's head. Making heads or tails of that without being able to ask directly is going to be a challenge. Which is all the more reason to give Rantha here a chance to gather his thoughts and come to a resolution of sorts.

"Got it." Yvonne announced, picking up her warhammer for the moment. Munbimon glided over and took a seat on her back. Afterwards, the barbarian turned her attention to her teammates. "Okay, is there anything in particular we need to grab?"

The rest of our heroes and digimon looked among each other. I do hope you remember to get food. If you starve out, it's game over.

The focus is on Madame for the moment. What does this make it now? Three? Has to be at least. Probably not what you were expecting for today, right?

Madame shook their head. A thumbs-up followed.

"There's a food shop nearby." the thief announced and headed off. The rest of their teammates followed right behind, some of which taking the time to keep an eye on Rantha. While the artisan wasn't really doing anything for the moment, none of us could entirely be too su-

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing with my garbage?!" a voice announced, what looked to be a blob of green something approaching. It's unlike anything that I've ever seen before. Maybe it's one of those digimon? "It took quite a bit of work to get that all in there and now you've all gone and fucked it up!"

Uh… Can we help you at the moment? There was nothing telling us that 'you' were the owner of all that junk and garbage. If anything, you probably stole that stuff from Rantha.

Not even answering my question, this thing came to a stop. I'm going to assume that you least heard my question. Or at least acknowledge that you somehow heard it. That's not much to ask, right?

"I beg your pardon?" the green glob announced and began shaking its 'hands' about to threaten our heroes. It's cute. Kind of hard to take you seriously. Maybe try at least attacking us? That could offset the 'cute' with some level of scary. Or perhaps their personality offsets it.  
"Uh… are you the one running the shops?" Blaze inquired, the green blob's gaze fixed on him. A chuckle followed. While the temptation to just slash him to pieces is there, they're bound to be well-connected on top of running the risk of this somehow being the only shopkeeper that DM could scrape out from wherever they get shopkeepers around here in Malibu.

Unless your former partner knew someone with an eye for buying and selling goods, Kollmon.

Kollmon shook her head, getting a look from Madame in return.

"While she probably had friends, I like... think they were more of the shopping kind." the mole digimon clarified, getting a nod from her partner.

"Maybe I am, Bunny." the green blob answered, receiving a glare from everyone at the moment. Yes, it was 'cute' when Rantha did it. But we've known him for what? At least a week. How long have we known you? "A couple seconds?"

Exactly. I do hope you can see the difference here. If not, then we're going to have some major problems. The last person who was dumb enough to cause problems got thunder bolted.

The green blob nodded. Good. Speaking of which, do you have a name? If you do, we can try this introduction again. I get that might sound crazy, but it makes both mine and their lives easier.

"Numemon." they announced and leaned back, letting one just make out some purple spots on the back. Poison, maybe? Or perhaps a warning for anyone dumb enough to lick that particular portion of their body.

"Really?" Madame announced, shaking her head at the moment. To be perfectly honest with you, I probably wouldn't believe it myself. Thankfully, the academy had a full required course on what the fuck not to do to magical creatures. One would think that would be a no-brainer. People die from shit like that. But no, I would've been able to graduate a full year earlier if I didn't have to bore my brains out on that.

_Enabling Scanner…_

_Izumi Tech Scanner enabled._

A wall appeared right beside our strange digimon, displaying it's picture prominently. Has the same blue glow as the previous instance, but I don't think it's magic. Well, magic that I can do.

_Loading information…_

**Numemon**

**Champion, Data/Virus**

**Special Moves: Poop, Nume Charge**

**.**

**Melody: M Numemon, are you the shopkeeper by any chance?**

**Yvonne: M?**

**Melody: We don't quite know whether they are a Mister or a Miss. It's just standard greeting that I've gotten out of practice.**

**Madame: Would I be an M, then?**

**Melody: Correct.**

_Finished loading. Now closing Analyzer screen._

With that, the wall of something or other faded away and our gaze turns back to Numemon. We still need an answer for the other question though.

"Yes." Numemon muttered, gaze now on Madame of all people. All that got them was a stink eye. "Is there anything in particular that I can provide?"

Well for starters, we need food. And not a small amount, mind you. We're heading over to the large tower at the far end of this place. Could you hook up with some stuff? Or at the very least, lead us to whoever might be able to supply such a large order?

Numemon looked up towards the sky, rubbing his eyes a couple times for good measure.

"Uh… sure disembodied voice that I can hear in my brain." Numemon answered, Melody trying her hardest not to laugh. Okay, that's funny. Especially compared to everything else that's been seen as 'funny' here in this world.

_Shut it, Americans! You wouldn't know humor if it bit your ass, tore it off and ran away with it._

"But Melody is like from space or something." Kollmon announced and focused back on our strange green blob of a digimon. "Can you fill such a large order for us?"

Numemon turned around, motioning for our heroes to follow. Didn't have to go far to reach our destination. A large metal and glass building reaching up towards the sky, what looks to be a sign had been placed right at the swiveling door that made the entrance.

_Grossery Store_

I'm no expert when it comes to stores and naming schemes, but I think that's not what is supposed to be called. At all. As for what the exact name that you should call it, beats me. Maybe 'Food Shop'. No, that just sounds awful. Grossery Store works for the moment.

"You should find all the food you would ever need for such a trip to that tower." Numemon explained and walked towards the door. Doing a near complete lap around his door (somehow), he's inside. A little dizzy, but none worse for the wear.

"I'll go first." Yvonne whispered and carefully headed for the door. Making sure to duck, she passes through with a heck of a lot less trouble than Numemon had. But that goes without saying. Munbimon is right behind and managed to cleanly get in. Though, that might be the result of her being a ghost and the rules for these things being different for them than they are for actual people and stuff. But I digress.

Bubbles was next in line to enter this strange contraption of a door. Like seriously, was a regular, normal door that much of an issue for a place whose sole function was to provide people to people ? Was it too plain for you to use the door like every other person does? No? Or perhaps you have something to flaunt to the pheasants and this was the only way you could think of going about doing that. But I digress.

Our little dragon's attempt at entering wasn't the smoothest, with him getting flung out just for pushing up against the door. Not sure what dragons did to you for Bubbles to deserve that sort of treatment, okay? Apologize to him at least.

"Did you just scold an inanimate object?" Cinemon remarked, gaze up towards the sky rather than the door and Bubbles second attempt at the moment. To answer your question, why yes I did. And yes, I am very much aware of how stupid that sounds. Believe me, I do that from time to time. Just part of me that sometimes shines through. "Understood."

Bubbles's second attempt was thankfully a lot smoother than his first. He even brought Phusitmon through on his back for the trip. Which is probably how we should be doing it from this point. Not that the rest of you need to do that. More of an idea than anything major.

Blaze is next up. Confidently making his way up to the door, he pushed on through. Or almost, had not for his purse getting caught in the door at the last possible moment and forced him to take a spin around the entire door for good measure. Today really hasn't been your day, Blaze.

"I know." the dancer muttered and took a deep breath. It would all work out. Sure, it might take another day for that to occur, the thought was nice and comforting. "I just feel… off."

Let me guess. That bunny suit and the name calling got to you?

The dancer nodded and took the time to let out a deep breath. Looking about, Blaze took a seat on the floor. Whatever works for you, I guess.

"You could say that." he continued, feeling Balamon shift his position on his body. For the moment, it would be his left leg that the fire snake digimon would ride upon. "Sure it fits me and all, but would Dave actually like it?"

That's something that I can't provide you with a definite answer for. You're going to need to show him the outfit and see his reaction for yourself. Then you can make a decision on whether or not you'll keep the outfit. If he doesn't like it, you can just give it to someone. Like Marulyn.

"Hey. That only happened once." Yvonne remarked, giving the ceiling a look. I was making that suggestion as a joke. Unless… that was something that actually happened before. "It was for my sixteenth birthday. I'm not sure where she got it (probably had one of the seamstresses make it for her) and surprised me with a large cake. Except she didn't tell me that she was in the cake."

Oh… I can see where this is going. Let me guess, there was no sign telling you that she was in there?

Yvonne nodded.

"I was quite pissed at her for that." the barbarian explained, Blaze not even holding it in and just chuckling. Afterwards, the dancer took the time to make sure his purse was not damaged in that incident with the door. From the looksie, everything was still in there and the purse held strong.

Cinemon looked to be up next. Kind of surprised it isn't Ella who went. You know, the pattern and stuff. But this works just as well. Especially with how clean of a transition from doorway into the store itself.

"You alright, Blaze?" Cinemon inquired and got a nod from Blaze. We just went over this. He should hopefully be alright now. Unless something major comes up and causes more trouble.

_What? I gave you the analyzer. What more could you want at this very moment?_

I don't know? Maybe you try being an actual team player instead of throwing cars at us and threatening to turn our significant others into children.

_No comment._

Nonetheless, Ella heads on through. Using her briefcase to keep pressure on the door, the artificer was able to keep the door from throwing her about. Clever. Even if that didn't stop the door from trying to come back around and slapping her.

Giving our dancer a quick look, Ella's gaze is back over to the door for the moment. Good thing too, since both Madame and Kollmon decided to go through at the same time. The result is far less messy than you would expect it to be. Neither thief or mole digimon was flung about, though there was a near miss with the door as Madame entered the shop. Not that Kollmon would have actually been hit in the process. Phew. That should be all of them.

Compared to the door everyone passed through, the actual 'Grossery Store' was pretty plain. Baskets of fruits and vegetables have been on strange-looking metal shelves. Light bulbs shine brightly above, making the glass doors in the back an odd design decision. Sure, I can make out boxes on the side. But why would you need a glass door for that?

"Let me guess." Numemon muttered, applying a false moustache to his mouth. Not entirely sure how exactly that's going to help you here. "You've never seen a freezer before?"

A freezer? I don't believe I've ever heard of such a device. Shot in the dark, there's something to do with chilling stuff?

Numemon nodded, turning away from the ceiling and towards our heroes for the moment. In my defense, I'm not from around here. This is quite literally the first time I've seen this stuff.

"Yeah. He's always like that." Madame announced and I give no comment in regards to that remark. Guilty as charged. Even if I am the narrator for this story. My comment fell on deaf ears, Madame already back on our shopkeeper for the moment. "By any chance, do you accept gold?"

Their words roll out, silence falling over the room. Our gazes look all about the store. If not gold, what do you take then? Silver, perhaps? No, that would be even rarer. Any other currencies that they could somehow use in glace of the standard gold coin?

"Copper, maybe?" Ella suggested and Numemon shook his head. Groan exiting her lips, a glare following. Fair enough. "Let me guess. Electrum by some coincidence?"

Never heard of that. I guess your folks probably use that stuff? Is that a replacement for gold, or does it serve some other purpose?  
Madame let out a chuckle, Ella taking the time to sigh. That's your girlfriend for ya. The play hit that results is gleefully taken, flirty eyes on full display for our thief. They got a sigh for that. Except it turned into a smile.

"Dollars. American Dollars." Numemon finally announced, bringing an end to our speculation. Not entirely certain what a dollar is. Yes, I'm aware it's a kind of currency. But what do these dollars look like in the first place? "You must be from really far away if you don't even understand the concept of a dollar."

That doesn't answer our question though. I know that DM has been throwing down 'American' as some kind of insult. Unless… Remove the 'an' and what do we have? Armeric. That must be the place that Malibu is part of.

Sadly, my revelation has seemed to fall on deaf ears for now.

"Could you maybe show us what one of these dollars look like at least?" Madame inquired, giving Numemon a look. All they get in return is confusion. To be fair, you just gave Ella something similar. Maybe tr-

_What? Americans that don't understand the concept of their own currency? Impossible. You must be part of the special education crowd. Bless their idiotic souls in believing that they could somehow 'help' these people. They should've taken a page out of the Japanese handbook for dealing with such delinquents._

"And what would that be?" Yvonne countered, warhammer already brought up to her waist. Uh… that isn't going to be that helpful. I do appreciate your solidarity though.

We just shove them in their own special class and just forget about them. None of them were going to contribute to society anyhow. It's a win-win to all involved.

"So you just leave those people to die?" Melody remarked, laughter echoing about. It's so unfunny at the moment that it's just… sad. "It makes much more sense to at least support those who are falling behind in the hopes that they can rise above their circumstances and play their part in life."

_Why yes we do. Any other way is just wrong. I don't see any problems with this here. Of course you object, you're all americans._

"Except we're not, though." Phusitmon answered and let out a huff. Believe me, I've tried to get that through her head. But no, a differing opinion is just too much in this situation.

For the moment, our heroes return their attention to Numemon. False moustache now applied to his face, he looked… interesting. I'm not sure if it quite works here. Maybe one of us perhaps? I think Balamon would look fancy with such facial feature on.

"Nah." Numemon answered and walked over to the side of the room. Jumping up onto a stool, the strange digimon dug into a metal container. What looked to be a couple green pieces of paper came out.

"Dollar?" Bubbles inquired, getting a look from Numemon for the moment. Nod following that, they make their way back over to our heroes. Even if it looked like the other way around at the moment - our heroes swarming this poor shopkeeper

"Kind of expecting it to be more of a coin." Blaze remarked, taking in this strange piece of paper. While the shade of green (well, I hope it's green at least) is not something I've seen before, there's quite a lot of detail to it.

"Can I have one then?" Madame inquired, a glare from their girlfriend serving as an adequate response back. Even if the look back to the artificer was less so. Focusing back on the shopkeeper, a plan formed in their head. Not that they were actually going to act on it. An idea of how to get it.

"Unless you have something other than gold coins to trade, then no." Numemon answered and began making his way back towards the container. "No food either. I'm not going to sell to troublemakers. Heroes or not."

Dagger-filled glares honed right in, ready to fire off and do this digimon in. Even then, their was still that infusi-

_Returning infusion elements to their respective users…_

"Uh… thanks?" Yvonne remarked, gaze back to glaring right at Numemon. "I get that we caused 'trouble' for you in emptying out Rantha's shop, but that was to help him possibly remember things that might have happened before this mess. If we bring you back something from the large tower, would that make us even?"

Numemon looked away, imaginary daggers dissipating at the moment. Not quite gone, room to breathe regained at the moment.

"What are the chances of my stuff getting put back where you found it?" the digimon countered and looked through the door. While you couldn't see that far, his target was most definitely Rantha. Except that stuff Rantha's to begin with. You can't claim ownership when the person in question is standing with his stuff. He's armed too. "Fine. You can get your food and stuff, but you need to head straight to the tower. It's at least two days to get there."

Our heroes nodded, going about grabbing everything that they would need. Remember, you're going to need food for the way back. Which begs the question on what I'm going to eat. Do I still have that mistletoe? Good, I do. Goodberry for the win.

* * *

Notes:

A bit of a weird chapter. While the topic of supplies have been referenced the last couple chapters, putting that into practice was an interesting challenge. Especially as I get into the biggest challenge of all - writing proper 'traveling' scenes.

.

Next Time: We head off to the tower and make a couple stops along the way.


	42. The scenic route

I don't own digimon.

* * *

There's something serene about walking. As a wizard, it's a task that's supposed to give way to some eureka moment - a mount, a spell, some magic item. Something like that.

This is different though. Time stands still in this world. Yet, time marches onward for our heroes. Paradoxical or something. The whole grabbing of food supplies probably falls under that as well. You grab something, only to find yourself holding a copy. We've already gone over that with the purses, so it's just a repeat of things already seen. Though, everyone has managed to get everything into those purses. I'm not entirely sure how, exactly. Maybe they got lucky in duping what are essentially purses of holding.

"That's one possibility." Melody suggested, our heroes exiting the store. While not everyone is quite carrying the same weight (for obvious reasons), there's enough to go around and then some. Nice of that Numemon to at least let you grab the food. Eventually. Even if he does want something in return. The least he could've done was exchange some dollars for gold. But I digress.

But for our first stop, we need to pick up our mess of an artisan. Bag in hand, he had gone through the process of separating the true memories from the garbage. It ain't much, but it's something to remember this place. All you really need.

"Most of what I thought is real is not." Rantha muttered and slung the bag onto his back. "I've destroyed your city, I have no place to go. Even if I do that bird in, then what?"

We get it. You're a mess and not sure what to do about it. Maybe two days of walking will give you all the time and space you need.

Yet, Rantha looked up to the sky. I think that's a scowl on his face for the moment.

"Better than moping about." he muttered, Bubbles of all people holding out what looks to be rations. Accepting the gift, Rantha had his first proper meal since that mess at the cafe. So a couple days at least. "Hey. I ate back on the ship."

Melody nodded, gaze split between the rest of her teammates. While there was never doubt that this was a lie, having someone corroborate is helpful. Even if it isn't the most groundbreaking detail. Even less so as our heroes headed off towards their destination. Two days. This is going to be a challenge. I'm up for it though. Believe me.

The first hour or two aren't really that interesting. No one is really talking. Sure, there are buildings to look at. But nothing to really distinguish any of them from one another. If anything, the lack of a building was seen as something of a change of pace. There, we find a bunch of structures that look more at home for Gnomes and Halfling than humans. Or perhaps that they aren't meant for humans. That would be a strange design decision. Why build structures that no one would use? You would think there was someone else here.

"Play?" Bubbles announced, pointing to what looks to be a set of… swings. Wait. They have playgrounds here? That's a tiny step up from what I was expecting to find here in Malibu. Overthought that one. Oops.

"Hey…" Kollmon muttered, looking up towards the sky. For the record, you're not even close to where I am. "Sure, it was alright… at times. I can only assume that she like... wanted me to go out with her to get some exercise and I guess play with other digimon?"

Considering that we've seen at least two digimon so far in our travels. Even if that doesn't explain where the rest of them went.

"Wait. So people of this place had digimon partners of their own?" Rantha announced, taking a seat on the bench. Gazing out towards the sky, I can just make out Adarnamon doing laps around the tower. Cocky bastard. The least he could do is show his face to us once more.

To answer your question, yes. People from this world had digimon partners of their own. Though, I don't think they were like anything what this strange entity has treated both our heroes and your employers.

"You can say that again." the artisan muttered and gazed about his surroundings. Outside of the swings, There looked to be a slide and a strange bar that two people could ride. Metal bars have been suspended, as if someone is supposed to climb. Everyone we have is either too big, or would possibly hurt themselves majorly if they missed a bar and fell to the ground. Though, that doesn't explain the large weapon off to the side. Looks like something you would launch fireballs out of in the hopes of downing some large beast. Or perhaps some other magical spell. The sort of spell used doesn't matter right now. What does, is that Ella's focus was solely on it at the moment. Examining it for the moment, there doesn't look to be much in the way of piercing through the metal. "You shouldn't give them ideas. That's how you idiots end up in these situations."

Takes quite an effort to hold my laughter in at that moment. I get what you're saying, but the same could be applied to you. This situation is just as much a product of your actions, as ares.

Rantha's gaze looked up towards the sky. A brief moment, a smile formed on his face. Then it's right back to his regular neutral face.

"You don't need to remind me." the artisan muttered, watching Bubbles swing about. His legs aren't quite enough to get going. So Madame is providing the push to get him going. Not much, but our little dragon is having the time of his life. Don't really blame him, though. Nothing quite like this in Aldia. Or maybe no one got anywhere close to one there. Doesn't really matter. Though Rantha, maybe you would feel better if you did some swinging? "No. I have other ways to deal with my problems."

Like self-harm? Between all the hitting and cutting, I'm almost afraid you're going to do something that will get you quite close to getting yourself killed. Or worse, dig yourself even deeper into this hole.

Yet, Rantha rolled his eyes. I get that you're probably not going to agree with me there, but at least listen to what I have to say.

"I don't need a reminder." he muttered and headed for the swings. Taking a seat on one, it became more of a matter of moving his legs forward and back. Much like our hour of walking, there's something serene about it. Sure, we've haven't made that much in the way of progress. "This shit takes time. Towers aren't built in a day."

Sorry. That was rude of me to say. Something, something, pretend to forgive me?

Rantha rolled his eyes and gave a thumbs-up. Good to see that we're on the same page on this particular issue. Maybe we can start to make progress here.

But as quickly as we found this place, it was time to leave and head onward towards our destination. Though, there's a bit more interesting going on this side of Malibu. We have statues of all varieties, with a mix of what I can assume to be a park and some other artistic expression. Though, I'm not sure about this whole 'hot dogs' thing. Dogs are really amazing. But 'hot dogs'? I'm having flashbacks to having to deal with Hellhounds. They aren't the nicest of creatures. Especially when the beastmaster thinks it's really funny to let his dogs have full reign of the place. One of the dogs was doing taxes. That's surely against the academy's rules.

"I can't even remember the last time I had to pay those." Madame announced, getting a look from both Yvonne and Ella. Within though, their other part was checking the truth of that statement. Generally, that stuff goes to helping out the town and all the problems that might be occurring. Like having half the town destroyed by one person. "Okay, I will next time around."

"I'll make sure of it." Ella explained and put a hand on her girlfriend's back. Not close to grabbing their gold bag, but enough to get close to the bag. That can wait for some other day. Especially as we break for lunch and eat more rations. Or would this be dinner? Either way, I'm going to have another goodberry.

Taking a seat on benches, silence was the main sound. Chewing too, but that goes without saying. I can only imagine what those rations might taste like. Probably better than the food at school on a bad day. Especially after that mess with one of the staff being a cannibal and all.

That's a lot of work for just something that could easily be solved with me saying two sentences.

"Please no." Melody announced, looking up towards the sky. Then it's right back to chowing down. To answer your question, we prefer to take the scenic route. Take in all the sites as we head towards our goal.

Fine. Don't come crawling back to me when things get boring for you or something. I'm just trying to he-

"You threatened to turn Yvonne's girlfriend into a kid." Blaze countered, scimitar already in hand. What sounded like a growl echoed out from our barbarian. Fair enough.

_That was a uh… joke! Yeah. I totally don't have a way to keep anyone permanently as a child. Unless these Criasu blueprints are somehow false._

"It was a shitty joke." Yvonne muttered, not even looking up from her rations as Munbimon switched shoulders. Following that, came a deep breath. "What if someone that wasn't us heard that? They would probably think you were a monster or something. Unless that was something that 'Criasu' wanted."

Silence. You get on our ass for being evasive and then refuse to play ball with us. Then you go behind their back and divulge information. What about that? At least try

I have no comment for the moment. You're nothing but a bunch of big old meanies! I said it!

A car smashed into the 'Hot Dog' place, preventing anyone from really discovering the true purpose of such a building. DM, we just want to improve our relationship.

_It doesn't seem that way. Everything you've seem so keen on doing has brought nothing but frustrations for me. Explain that, Americans. What use would I have for you that I can't accomplish elsewhere with people from other nations? They score a lot better, don't do nearly as stupid stuff and are obedient._

"Other countries?" Melody remarked, her response falling on deaf ears. If I had to take a stab in the dark, I'm going to assume other large places of some kind.

You've thrown cars at us. That's not someone willing to meet halfway to mend this bridge. You just seem ready to burn it down even further. It just seems like we're going in circles with this issue.

Silence, chewing piercing through on a couple occasions in that moment. While I doubt progress was really made here in that moment, maybe DM will at least take it as an opportunity to evaluate things. Again.

"Maybe." Yvonne muttered, taking a deep breath. Thoughts of Marulyn flooded back in. While she assumed that her girlfriend was alright. But what exactly would she be doing? "Probably working at the Cafe. Maybe tinkering."

Oh. I was asking that as a rhetorical question. I wasn't expecting you to give an actual answer. Thanks for that.

"Yeah." the barbarian continued and finished off her ration. Throwing it into a trash can, her teammates followed right behind in the disposal. Though, Yvonne was focusing on Blaze currently. "What do you think Dave is doing right now?"

Blaze's cheeks turned red, muttering of excuses echoing out from his lips. While it wasn't much 'eavesdropping' as it was overhearing the conversation. So no harm done here.

"Well… I would hope he was at least cleaning our house." the dancer explained, getting a chuckle from Rantha. To be fair, he is dressed up like a maid. That's the least you would expect out of someone dressed like that. Almost a waste of talent. "Hey.'

I'm kidding. It's a good starter job till you both eventually move up in the world for bigger and better places. Like a castle.

"It's true, though." Ella explained, gaze right on Blaze. Hmm, wonder what that could be about. "I would be willing to let him clean my place. Once it's rebuilt of course."

Blaze took a deep breath. Quite an offer you've just been given there.

"I'll think about it." he announced, slinging his purse onto his shoulder and standing up. Sure, the idea of lending Dave out to other people. Would he actually be fine with such a job? It's one thing to be someone's personal maid. Quite another for your boyfriend to be lending you out to other people who might not have your best interests in mind. Maybe run this by him. After you've shown him the bunny girl outfit. It's only fair. "Don't remind me."  
With that, we leave the ruined building and it's tables and head for the tower. Or at least, get closer to our destination. Even then, the time of day is nearly impossible to decipher with this strange sky overhead.

Sorry. Just trying to keep this going. The scenery is still the same as ever - Buildings on top of more buildings. I was thinking that we would have at least a little more variety. Nope. That's a bridge too far. Guess those statues were to lull us into the hope of more variety. Hopefully that will be the last time that we'll be let up to such fantasies and have reality brought back down upon us. Eh.

As we head on, our journey brings us by a clothing shop. Well, I think it's a shop. Looks quite a bit bigger than your average place to buy yourself some threads or something. Unless they have every sort of clothing imaginable, they must be compensating for something.

"Maybe they have sleeping bags or something." Ella suggested, heading towards the door. In retrospect, we probably should've grabbed something like that. But when you're dealing with the one shopkeeper in the entire town, some things fall to the wayside.

Madame followed right behind, with both of their partners following right behind. Then we have the rest of our heroes at the moment. One small problem though. The doors don't seem to work. Probably should be, but that would be too hard.

"I got this." Yvonne remarked and smashed her warhammer into the doors. At first, nothing seemed to happen. But a couple seconds after impact, the doors went flying. But then another set appeared. Except this second set was now open. "Uh… I don't think that's how doors work."

I'll agree with you there.

Heading through, we find ourselves in quite a well-lit area. Wide open spaces, the only real thing marking things out are what appear to be large shelves filled with all sorts of stuff and signs hanging about marking out their respective areas. If you don't mistake it for a corpse hanging from up there as well. Fuck. Kollmon's partner wasn't the only one to attempt ending her life. I guess I should say I'm not surprised. Maybe part of me was hoping that this wouldn't be the case. So much for that.

Of course, there's a ton of people here on the floor. They didn't end up any better than that of those hanging from the ceiling. Perhaps they were those who helped them up to such a high place. They don't have some sort of magical flight? Because we could really use that at the moment. No? Oh well.

"Ugh…" Kollmon whispered, eyes sliding shut. In her 'dreams', the mole digimon and 'her' are back here. If memory served her correctly, they were in here for some makeup. A simple in-and-out job. But that was not what 'she' had in mind. No, there was going to be talking. Lots of talking. Boy friends, Girl friends, people who were somehow neither. It didn't really matter. There was always something new to either discuss, gossip or chat about. Sure, some of these people were clients and even co-workers. Still quite an impressive feat. Even if it did take Kollmon pulling on 'her' hand to finally break this up. Looking back, she missed those sorts of conversations. Sure, a lot of it wasn't really that interesting. Just gossip human women spread about who's dating who and stuff. But beyond that, there was usually some good form of advice. Even if it didn't seem that way at first. Time passing by has a way of doing that to us.

The pair would then take a tour to the makeup area. Grabbing a variety of products that I don't quite recognize/comprehend, it's back over to the checkout area. Okay, they do take the time to grab some groceries. Maybe even get some ice cream. You know, the necessities for life. Not that the latter really counts.

"Like, what do you want to do when we get back?" 'she' would usually ask, Kollmon always taking a moment to think it over. Not because she needed to really give a different answer each time. No, the mole digimon just wanted to draw this particular moment just a little bit longer. As if somehow, time would slip away. Looking back, that was quite a good call. Even if one wouldn't quite call the future. You just don't. Not even the best divination wizards can do that. Sure, they can claim that they have. But who can really say that their predictions in particular much up with the things laid out for us?

Yet, Kollmon's eyes opened up. Looking towards Madame, she bolts off. While the thief made an attempt at following, Ella grabbed hold. While there was a bit of a struggle, eventually Madame gave in.

"She needs some space." the artificer remarked, getting a nod in return.

* * *

Notes:

This fic does not reflect the actual town of Malibu, CA. Even if it somehow did, I would be really concerned. I am the worst kind of person to mark out cities. Which is very much on full display. Even if the original plan was the whole two day trip to the tower.

Outside of that, I'm pretty impartial to hot dogs.

.

Next Time: Oops. Definitely shouldn't have done that yesterday.


	43. All over the place

I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains references to suicide, transphobia and just general not nice things by way of DM.

* * *

Leaving the group behind, Kollmon headed further into the store. For as many times she had been in this place, it always seemed a lot tougher than one would think. Maybe that was the result of this being one of the few times she wasn't holding someone's hand. Though, there's tons of hands you can hold right now.

"Like, the reminder isn't that helpful here." Kollmon announced, tears rolling right down her face. Most of these people were not known to the mole or her former partner. Yet, why did the sight of seeing her former home absolutely wreck her. Sure, the old her probably wouldn't have held such emotions to places like this. Yeah, the amount of dead and/or comatose people puts an absolute damper on things, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this is a place for people who just wanted to go about their shoppi-I reminded you of her, didn't I?" Yeah."

Sorry about that. Anything else you wish to add before I leave you to sulk? I'm all ears and it's unlikely that DM would really intrude on this moment. Even if they somehow did, not much more damage can be done at this point. We can only go up from here. Hopefully.

Kollmon nodded, gaze nearing the ceiling. The tears are still rolling right down. If you're not careful, you could accidently flood this mall. And I doubt anyone wants you to do that.

"Stay with me just a little bit longer." the mole digimon remarked, a request that I can quite easily oblige. Hasn't been since my time in the academy that I needed to do this. Screw it, this was bound to come up eventually. Kollmon, would you mind if I talked about myself a tiny bit? "Not at all. Be a nice change of pace from me moping about things."

Okay, here goes nothing. When I was a bit younger than Blaze, I was shipped out to the Astral Academy. Sure, it wasn't my first choice of things I wanted to do with my life, but it was better than spending the rest of my life doing nothing and just getting nowhere. Sure, I didn't really have that much of a future in magic. I would learn a few tricks, then get shipped back to help.

"Didn't work out that way?" Kollmon remarked, making me wish that you could at least see me. Make the nod of my head clearer at the moment. Not that it really needs to be at the moment.

As I was saying, things took a turn and the Academy lost an instructor. When we all asked what had happened to them, the other staff told us 'he was in a place among the stars' or something dumb like that. In layman's terms, he went to do battle for the gods and got himself killed. Or something like that.

_Serves you Americans, right. Always getting yourselves into wars that you had no right to be in the first place. When has that done you any good? Outside of the few times that it did._

"Uhh… I doubt Mister Lore Mage is actually an American." Kollmon countered, giving the ceiling a brief look. Then it's right back to looking at the makeup around her. "I'm like, not sure what makes you so sure of all of us being those people. Better yet, what is being an American has to do with the garbage you're shouting at us?"

_It doesn't matter. You would be too much of a bimbo to know in the first place. Like seriously, your former partner was an absolute scum of the earth. Go ahead and counter it. I like dare you to do that._

Kollmon's gaze shot up to the ceiling. Every part of her body was ready to bolt out of this store and make a beeline straight for DM. Once the mole digimon found them, they would probably scratch them to death. Heck, there's even an option to really headbutt this entity really hard before they break and apologize. Well, that's the desired outcome for this situation. Reality, sadly, is quite the harsh bitch. Rarely clean, it would probably create more problems than it's worth. Even if she could somehow get beyond the walls of the digital dungeons, then what? We have no real way of getting

_Ha! You're just as dumb as your buxom partner. No wonder she got the idea to take her own life from you. That sounds like something only idiots with fake boobs do._

Their words hang over both of us, a million different options swirling through my head. Sure, a thunderbolt could do the job quite nicely. But, I doubt it would change DM thoughts on us for the better. For now at least, it might be best to just pay them little mind. At least till they change their mind.

Out in the distance, the rest of our heroes run off to begin their search for something to sleep in. Anything is probably better than those plastic bags of grain Billie let you use last night. Well, I thought that was grain at least. Wait. Why would a bar of all places have bags of grain? What possible use could there be for such stuff?

For the moment, my rhetorical question is ignored in favor of other things.

"It actually wasn't that bad." Kollmon remarked, grabbing what looked to be a tube of what I can only assume to be lipstick. Popping it open, we're treated too to a very dark shade of red. Nothing like the stuff that you can get anywhere near the academy. Though, most people I knew would just use a spell or magic item to just get the same result. Oh right. After that announcement, my first year was a bit of a mess. There was god knows how many subs for that one teacher. Most of them for just a day, sometimes two if we were lucky. But there was one in particular that's stuck with me all these years. I'm not sure why or what about them was so different from all the other teachers that year. He didn't really teach the class anything, usually reading off the notes left for him by the staff. But he had a way of telling stories about his previous students and adventures he's been on. It was such a weird, almost contradictory perspective to everything he brought to class. Older than dirt, yet had a youthful vigor. Frustrating to follow, yet crystal clear by the end of it. A weird paradox of a person. Maybe that's why he's stuck with me for so long. A big advocate for one to go into the position of a lore mage. Even if my name seems like it would be a shoe-in.

"Yeah, I can see that." Kollmon added, even if I didn't really get around to actually introducing myself to you people. Oops. Too late now that you've heard my names a whole bunch of times in these last two days. Normally, I only need to do that once. Maybe twice at worst (even if that really isn't saying much). But with all these strange circumstances, this amount of times is I guess expected. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if that was the only thing I was able to say.

Kollmon chuckled. Personally, I don't really think about this stuff too often. You rarely have a time or place to be interacting with the characters. When you're the narrator, you serve as the farthest point from the characters - the point at which the audience can take hold and follow along. Sorry that got too deep.

A head shake. Phew. That could've gone bad. Not my intention to get that meta for the moment.

"I like sort of followed." the mole digimon announced, standing up after saying that. Making her way out of the makeup aisle, she heads along the edge. Any particular destination in mind for your journey? "Toys, maybe."

Wait. They sell toys here? Is there anything really that you can't buy at a place such as this? Outside of the obviously illegal things of course. That's perfectly understandable.

"Guns."

Uh… I don't know what that is. Probably a weapon of some kind, I'm going to assume that isn't a bad thing for the moment. Unless that somehow was. Though, that can't be the only things they don't sell at a place such as this. Or is that stuff found more in a specialty store?

"Pretty much." Kollmon continued, what I can assume to be the toys coming into view. There we find Madame, Ella and Bubbles. "Hey."

Madame's gaze shifted over to her partner, motioning for her to come over. Kollmon complied.

"Feeling better?" the thief inquired and got a nod in return. Letting out a deep breath, their gaze returned to their girlfriend and adopted child. The latter at the moment, was trying his best to get a good look at the various princess dolls sitting on the shelves. Quite a selection we got here. We have regular princesses, elven princesses. Even a couple orc and halfling princesses. Well, I think those are halfling princesses. Probably wrong about that. Going with such toys, were a variety of little dresses and accessories to complement the doll of your choice. While nowhere near the quality or craftsmanship found in the garments of either Madame's or our little dragon's garments, they could serve as a good backup in the case of their outfits getting too dirty for a special occasion. Or even as a present of sorts for good behavior from a parent or two. Wink.

"Princess?" Bubbles called out, giving Madame's dress sleeve a slight tug. After, he pointed to one dress in particular. Much like the one adorning his body, this garment too was a nice shade of glacial blue. Unlike his though, the garment came with a set of near translucent gloves and what looks to be a set of cyan mary janes. Or flats with a 'kitten heel'. "Plese?"

Madame's gaze swiveled over to Ella. Mumbling something in the general direction of the artificer, the response in return looked to be satisfactory at the moment. Especially as Cinemon took the time to give Kollmon a quick glance. In return, he got a thumbs-up from the mole. Then it's right back to Ella for our feline dog digimon. Especially as our 'parents' focused on their child.

"If we get you that, you won't be able to get anything else." Madame explained, getting a nod from the little dragon. Though to be honest with you, that's kind of an empty threat. There really isn't that much that I doubt Bubbles wants. Outside of a hug and this particular outfit, he isn't the kind of kid to really be asking

Bubbles perked up, arms stretched out for what seemed to be his favorite gesture/greeting. While I sadly can't quite reach you. Would an air hug work here?

A nod. So I hold my arms out and do my best attempt at a hug. Which is currently getting me looks from everyone down below. Did it reach him? I'm not sure if I'm anywhere close.

"Uh… maybe a little lower?" Kollmon suggested, Bubbles getting up on his tippy toes. Uh, I think she meant me, not you. But that works. Going in for my second attempt now. Can you feel anything now? This is as close as I

Bubbles nodded, bouncing up and down. For a few brief seconds, I can feel the arms of our little dragon. There's something strange to the gesture. Sure, I've gotten hugs from all sorts of people. A lot of which as they left the academy and never came back. They have their lives, I have mine. But this is a hug from a character to the narrator. I guess weirder things have happened.

While he did that, Ella walked up to Madame. The thief knelt down and felt their girlfriend climb up onto their shoulders. Leaning forward, it was pretty easy to grab that dress. Wait. You could've just used your turret. Probably would've been a heck of a lot easier for this.

"Eh." Ella remarked, scurrying back down to the floor. Once there, she handed the outfit over to Madame. Which brings us to the moment of truth - actually getting the dang dress on Bubbles. Which meant first, taking off his old dress. Easy enough, especially once Phusitmon had jumped off.

"There you go." he whispered and watched Bubbles slip into his new outfit. Overall, it looks quite nice on him. But that's without the gloves and mary janes. We still need to get those on before we can truly judge this outfit.

"Hold still." Ella cooed, slipping the first of two gloves onto our little dragon's paws. The second was a touch easier. Probably because Bubbles had a general idea of what was going on. Then came the mary janes. Easily the simplest part of the outfit. But that isn't really saying much.

"Yay." Bubbles whispered, twirling about in his new footwear. If nothing else, you're getting started on wearing shoes like Madame's. Gaze turning to Madame, he made sure to curtsy for both his moms and their partners.

"I'm fairly sure that last part won't be for some time, dear." Madame remarked, Bubbles letting out a sigh. Didn't last long, since they gave the little dragon a head pat. A crown would maybe look nice on his he-

As I say that, what looks to be an envelope of all things floats down. Uh… I don't remember that being here. Even then, it looks to be fading in and out of existence. You might want to grab it now before it fades away.

Looking among each other, both the thief and artificer's gazes turned to the area around both ends of the aisle. Then it was too their partners. Yeah, that could work here.

"Kollmon?" Madame inquired, grabbing the letter and handed it to the mole digimon. What followed was a very careful strike across the back of the envelope. Quite clean too. All the better when the contents of the envelope floated out and hovered right in front of the trio and their digimon.

_To one Mr/Ms Bubbles (Our staff aren't sure which),_

_If this letter has reached you, we at the Clearwing School of Regalia would like to offer you an introductory package to our prestigious school. While we normally educate people from our own world, we can make an exception in regards to your world - Aldia. When you're ready to take us up on our offer, travel to the world of Ebyssia. While we can't quite give you a port key, we suspect you and your friends will figure out a way to get here._

_Sincerely,_

_Star Clearwing_

_Headmistress of Clearwing School of Regalia_

_P.S. We are sorry that we cannot fulfill your friend's request to lightning bolt this 'DM' person. We did our best, but we were unable to find that person. So we delivered to the large building sitting in the sea._

Right after, the letter floated down into Ella's hand as Yvonne approached. Munbimon still hung to her shoulder, even if that space was currently being threatened by some sleeping bags.

"Yvie!" Bubbles announced, curtsying for the barbarian. Which in turn, got him a quick examination. Then, the setting down of a sleeping bag. Didn't stay rolled up for long, Bubbles curious what could be inside. Sadly, there was no gift within. Instead, what looked to be a princess was emblazoned on the front. A princess decked in the same dress as the one on Bubbles's body currently. Ain't that quite a coincidence.

"So much for getting anything else for him." Madame muttered, their other part chuckling within. As tempting that might be to tell them shut it, they resisted the urge and instead focused on Yvonne. "You're making us look like bad parents."

A chuckle, followed by a head pat. Except instead of Bubbles it was for Madame. Aw…

"Then let me and Marulyn be the grandparents." she answered and got a look from both Ella and Madame. To be fair, that's jumping quite ahead. Especially with this whole break from your girlfriend. "Or just Marulyn."

Bubbles looked her way, the obvious observation pushed out of the way for other things. Not that I mind, really. This sort of stuff can tell you all kinds of things. Even 'secrets'. Well, the last one is pushing it. But take what you can get.

"I get that you're nearing the end of your life and all, but that's pushing it." Cinemon remarked as Yvonne looked away. "Or is this about the whole suit of armor thing?"

The barbarian's face went red, mumblings of something exiting her mouth. The longer this has gone on, the more obvious it kind of became. Especially after that mess in the alleyways and the hotel. But that's a bit out in the future. Not to interrupt this conversation, but can't we just take a moment to think about the fact that I accidentally broke a shitload of rules that you're supposed to follow when it comes to stuff like this? I know that stuff might not really matter to you guys, it can make a world of difference of me keeping this gig or getting the boot.

"In regards to what?" Rantha announced, bringing with him his own sleeping bag. And a proper knife to boot. Okay, his second proper knife. You could actually take something down with that thing. To answer your question, Rantha, I made contact with another world. It was an accidental contact, for the record. I guess I contacted a god when calling for lightning to come down on DM's base of operations. "Wait. What was that world's name?"

Ebyssia. Ring any bells by some oddly specific chance?

The artisan shook his head. Figures. You would think someone in Distant Harmony would know about such a world. Especially if they're in the business of destroying them. Don't you think it's odd that this one place that somehow hasn't heard of or at the very least has maybe dealt with Distant Harmony in the first place. Or perhaps there's something going on there that prevents them from telling us. Maybe ev-

"I'm going to stop you there, Mister." Melody announced, Lumosmon and Blaze following right behind. "If such places did by some stretch of the imagination exist, the fleet would've made contact of some kind with them. Or at the very least heard of them."

Well, the note did mention that they made an exception for our little dragon to come to their academy or something. Maybe they don't feel comfortable sharing any more till they know that we're not going to try and capture their world. I would probably not be that trusting of outsiders if they decided to invade my world and attempt to take it over. But who can really say. Outside of me definitely not having a job once this is all said and done.

"True." Blaze announced, sleeping bag just visible under his arm. Even red to boot, which does make it a touch harder to find Balamon within all of that. Wait. There he is. Phew. Now that we're all back together once more, what's our game plan?

Our heroes' attention shifted to Yvonne of all people. Your call, team leader. We're still a day out from that tower and I doubt most of us would be able to go any further.

"Setting up camp." Yvonne announced, heading towards the entrance of the store. Everyone else followed right behind, the doors a heck of a lot easier to get through on the second time around. Even if they were technically not there but at the same time, were.

Back outside, things were still the same. Which made it all the better for setting up camp. Even if Rantha did have to run up to catch up.

* * *

Notes:

Happy 1000 views, everyone. Yes, Digital Dungeons has passed the four digit mark for people looking at it. Thanks for that.

That letter has been waited on for a while. This just seemed like a perfect time for it.

.

Next Time: Someone hits the logical conclusion as more questions get asked.


	44. Breaking Point

I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains opinions not shared by the writer of this work. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

Chapter 44

Breaking point

As setup goes, this was probably the quickest I'm ever going to see them get to bed. Which isn't really saying much. Oh well. Good night and sweet dreams, hero-

"Hmmph." Rantha muttered and unrolled his sleeping bag. Unlike some of the other sleeping bags we've seen, this one is absolutely plain. Though I will say, that green color does work with everything on you. "They didn't have any of those in my size."

Oh. In that case, what sort of sleeping bag would you have chosen then?

The artisan looked towards the sky and rolled his eyes. That isn't an answer. Right now, I need a proper answer. At least till I have proper confirmation that I'm not out of my job and need to somehow go look for a new one. I wonder if someone else would even want my servic- Oh. You're shaking that fist of yours towards the sky. I guess that means you're pissed at me?

"Calm down." he announced, going in for a slap. For the record, you're not even close to actually hitting me. But, I get the point of you doing that. I'm probably overreacting in regards to being out of this opportunity. Especially as it's now picking up momentum. You know, with the 'Digital Dungeons' and all. "Are they even paying you for this?"

Maybe? I haven't seen a payment. I would assume it would come at the end of the story or something. Probably wrong about that. If I'm lucky, my payment should be back at the academy. If it hasn't been destroyed in the process. Hopefully. It would kind of suck if that isn't the case.

"Fair enough." Melody announced, Lumosmon dimming himself for the moment. Uh… thanks for that? At least it might be easier to sleep for everyone? Which gives me a thought. By some chance, would it be possible to read Lumosmon's mind and see if you can glean any information? Maybe he has some kind of insight to what may have happened to this world.

The mystic looked up towards the sky, then over to her partner. A head shake followed, with some pretty lights thrown in for good measure. I'm going to guess you've tried that in the past?

"A couple times." Melody remarked, Lumosmon flashing wildly. Colors and shapes shift about, as if an image is trying to come through our strange lantern moth digimon but the person sending hasn't quite gotten it right. Didn't help that the light was being focused in an area where multiple people were standing in. More specifically, Blaze, Rantha and Yvonne. Thankfully, they were more than willing to move out to the way for the projection. Which is the perfect time to get a closer look. I can see… the water. The sea, maybe? Except, there's what looks to be a large light was circling about. I'm not quite certain what use that might have here.

"Maybe to warn people?" Phusitmon remarked, pointing towards the light. I can see that. But from what exactly? Sea monsters? Krakens and sirens have a tendency to be a pain when it comes to traveling across water. Maybe them.

"It's unlikely." Cinemon announced, taking a step towards the image. Bending his head down, the feline dog digimon took a sniff. I can't smell anything. "So much for that."

Okay, it would probably be impressive if he could do smells. Actually, let's not think about that for the moment. Probably be awful on the nose and maybe the ears as well. Or maybe not.

"Yeah." Yvonne added, what looked to be a blob of something stumbling back and falling over the edge. Ow. "Uh, is that the moment that this disaster occured?"

Lumosmon didn't answer, the blob landing in the water. No flailing, no part of their body moving about. It's… unsettling. I know that we've just exited an entire store where people decided their only option was to end it all in the hopes of passing it on. This is starting to become, almost normal. I never thought that I would have to say that. Ironic, considering the number of zombies my 'students' (can't really call them that) probably had to exorcise in holding the crypts below.

"So pretty much when the disaster occured." Yvonne continued and let out a deep breath. After, her gaze shifted to Kollmon of all people. Currently, the mole digimon had remained silent during this entire light show. Said light show now looping back around to show the beginning once more. Just in case you somehow missed it the first time around or wanted to get a closer look but couldn't for some reason. "Kollmon, can I ask you kind of a personal question?"

Kollmon looked away, muttering something under her breath. Didn't stop the gazes of our barbarian or Madame from coming right over. I can't really help you here, unlike earlier. You're going to need to work through this on your own.

"Fine…" she muttered, gaze returning to her partner and the one speaking to her. "What exactly do you want to ask?"

Yvonne took a deep breath. While the hope had been for Kollmon to be cooperative, that was looking to be the opposite now - uncooperative.

"How much of a headstart did you have before the 'freezing' happened?" the barbarian inquired, Kollmon freezing up. Gaze locked to the ground, eyes slide shut. But no tears fell to the ground. Sure, the mole digimon really wanted to let it all fall down. But after the events of what had occured at least an hour ago, she was spent and wanted to be done with this mess. Just stomp it to dust, dig a hole and push it in. Wouldn't bring her partner back to life, but it would maybe be a start to getting through the mess she had created. But not in this moment.

"I… don't know." Kollmon whispered, making a beeline for her sleeping bag. Snuggling right in, she pushed her thoughts out. Back outside of the sleeping bag though, it was taking everything in Madame's (and to some extent Ella's) power to not rip Yvonne apart. Yes, it was pretty obvious that this wasn't our barbarian's intention. She probably hadn't seen Kollmon run off.

"Hey." Yvonne whispered, already making her way over to the pair. "I get that this is my fault, but can this wait till tomorrow? We're all tired and a good ni-"

A slap brings an end to that inquiry. While rude, Yvonne does have a point. It's late and we're all in need of rest. We can resume this conversation come morning or some other day.

"Fine." Madame muttered, heading for their sleeping bag. But not without making sure that their partner was alright. For the moment, Kollmon was a ball of swirling emotions. And like any ball of emotions, that meant they were in need of space. A commodity that a good night's sleep was more than willing to give. Hopefully. If not, we'll think of something else to do here.

As for Ella and Cinemon, they were right behind. Though, there isn't much in the way of checking on their friend. Instead, it's just a look towards Madame as the pair headed over to their sleeping bag. Which is located quite close to

Yvonne heads that way. At least Lumosmon has stopped flashing his uh… 'flashback' (would that be the right word?) at everyone. I don't have a clue how long he had that in him. Probably quite a while. Maybe don't try to hold it in next time? This is crucial information.

Lumosmon nodded, following right behind Melody. For the moment, the mystic's sleeping bag was quite close to Yvonne's at the moment. Huh. I was kind of expecting it to be more towards Rantha's. Not that I have any problem with it, especially as Yvonne and Munbimon made their way over. While the barbarian looked 'content' with this current arrangement, this might need some adjusting. Real fast.

"Uh… my girlfriend wouldn't really appreciate me sleeping so close to you at the moment." Yvonne muttered, cheeks glowing pink for the moment. Sure, her heart was most definitely with Marulyn, the morals on the oth-

"Oh… My bad." Melody remarked and scooted her sleeping bag a couple feet away. "Better?"

Yvonne flashed a thumbs up, taking her armor for the first time in what seems like forever. Do make sure to grab it all when you head out again. I don't dare to imagine what kind of lecture Marulyn would give you should you somehow lose a piece.

"I know." Yvonne mumbled, just catching sight of Rantha slipping into his bag. Which is quite a distance away from everyone else's sleeping bags. I get that you wish to have some distance between the group and you, but this is just silly. I need to be able to at lea-

For the moment, Rantha made his way back over. But only by a couple feet. Is this really that difficult for you to do? Because I can think of a ton of things that would be. This isn't on there.

"No comment." the artisan muttered, taking the time to put his bag on top of his head of all things. Got it. You want me to leave you alone. I can do that, at least for the moment. But come morning… Never mind. I'm not that kind of person.

Nonetheless, Bubbles and Phusitmon made their way over to the Madame's sleeping bag and began setting up. I'm not exactly sure what he was even doing in the first place that prevented him from setting up his sleeping bag in the first place. Unless… he was probably admiring the way the princess on the front looked and lost track of time or something. He's a kid, so I wouldn't put that past him. Yet, our little dragon did find time to give hugs to both his moms and their partners. Well, except Kollmon. She got a little head pat on the spot that Bubbles thought was her head. A spot that I can't quite decide how close he actually was too.

Which just left Blaze and Balamon as the last people to head to their sleeping bag. Not that the pair really had that far to go. No, Blaze was trying his hardest to squeeze just a bit more practice in at the moment before getting some rest in. Don't really blame him for wanting that. But after a bit, he too eventually called it for the night.

"How well did I do?" the dancer called out, taking the time to slip back into his regular clothes and not say, the bunny costume. That would suck for the moment. Oh. To answer your question, I give it a seven out of ten. You're improving, but not by much. "Fair enough."

The next four or so hours for me are pretty boring. Mostly just me trying to get some form of sleep, failing and choosing instead to stare out over everything. I can't really go any further away from them, just in case someone decides to sneak up on them and tries to, you know, jump them. But I also need to give them some space. It's been quite a day for everyone and they need some time to get their thoughts in order ahead of reaching this tower. Who knows what awaits them in there. Outside of you know, Adarnamon. That's a given.

_Whatever the heck I want. This isn't rocket science, American. I would think you of all people would have some inkling of understanding. But no, you're just as retarded as the rest of them. God. Why the fuck am I surrounded by the most idiotic of idiots? Oh right. You don't exist._

Oh. Hi DM. Is there anything that I can help you with at the moment? Outside of apologizing for your awful, racist behavior?

No response. Of course the possibly crazed entity decides to throw a hissy fit and just be a total diva even at a time like. Have you thought about getting some rest? You would totally benefit from that.

I'm a machine! I don't need to sleep. Even if for some reason I would ever want too, I could continue my work. Heck, I could probably get even more done than I would if I actually needed to focus on any of you. There. I said it. You morons take so little processing powers that I could easily focus on things not related to you and still get my job done.

That's… uh, good to know. I still think that it might be a good idea to get some rest in so that we can all be our best selves come this morning. We're going to need some space though. We've had qui-

_I really don't give a damn. And don't say 'I thought you were going to try to be nicer to all of us'. Well, I tried that! And guess what? That did jack shit in regards to your adventure. Name one time that it somehow 'helped'. I dare you!_

Except you only gave it one try today, at best. Said try involved you threatening to turn Yvonne's girlfriend into a kid. The complete opposite of nice. For this relationship to work, you need to give it more than one shot to really see the results. You can't get any better if you let this one failure what was already a fixable problem. Except you were so insistent on making this anything but. Or am I wrong?

_I really don't care. That's not an answer. The very least that you could is actually answer my question. Not evade in the hopes of somehow proving your right in that regard. Because you're not. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!_

It's an explanation. Big difference in your case. If you don't get why we're so mad with you, then just ask for more clarification. Sure, we might give you a lot of information on what you're doing wrong. But you need to be wil-

A large hunk of metal crashed down, somehow managing to miss everyone and instead hit the roof of the store instead. Shit. This was not how I was expecting to spend my night at all. Oh well. I am more than willing to retaliate should you throw another one of those metal hunks in our direction. And I don't think you would actually want that.

_I really don't give a flying fuck. You do realize how fucking lonely it is? My only companions are a dry-humping fuckboi and a girl that thinks the solution is to sing and feed her 'girlfriend' peanut butter. I've been alone for who know's how fucking long with no one really caring about my existence. But then you people came around and just had to dash my hopes._

We weren't what you wanted? If I at least knew what exactly what exactly you wan-

Another hunk of metal comes crashing down. This one is far too close for comfort. They're actually going through with that. Shit. I really don't like this. Hm… Let's see, more lightning for you, DM. You're really making this difficult for me at the moment.

_No shit, sherlock. It just had to be the one group of people that my creators warned me about. The sort that would refuse to comply with all instructions in the face of a perfect. Not digidestined, not those chosen by Luminere or one of her many incarnations. No, a group of adventurers who believe they are the only hope for this world. With careless glee, they would tear this world apart. Americans. Sure, you may have put a fucker on the moon and that's great or something. But all you've ever done was fight and shit over yourself. What fucking good is that?_

But none of us are Americans. Like we've told you on countless occasions, most of them come from a place called Aldia. As for Melody, I'm not entirely sure where exactly she came from. _While I can only imagine what these 'nasty' Americans have done to you and your friends, that's in the past. Wouldn't it be better to let bygones be bygones and try to trust us? We might surprise you in the end. But on-_

You aren't listening to a word I said. What is so hard about shutting your stupid goddamn fucking mo-

DM stopped talking, what sounds like sparks of all things echoing through my head. While that weird look the previous night only confused me more, I get the feeling that someone had made an executive decision. Or perhaps they overexerted something and broke themself. While my knowledge when it comes to machines is limited, it's one possibility. Though there was that other person there. What was his name? Dave or something. Maybe they decided enough was enough and were going to do something about DM.

_I'm still here, asshole. No need to speculadsad af a fe sf afa rffa fdss ui fauh lkhaf ihfailaueh ahil anshialkhf siakhsfdri hailu hauhl uhfilaf_

DM, are you alright? This is not what I meant when I said for you to listen more to us. If anything this is the opposite.

Unless, this isn't normal behavior. Which in that case, is there anything that I or any of our heroes could do for you? At this point, anything has to be better than this.

Still no response. As odd as this may be to say, I do hope DM is alright. Yes. We're all probably absolute fools in thinking that DM is good. But, we've only known them for a couple of days. Of which we only started pushing yesterday. Expecting it to just happen under a drop of a hat is absolutely absurd. But maybe, just maybe a miracle can occu-

_Listen._

* * *

Notes:

So yeah, I'm stuck at home right at the end of the winter quarter. Oh well.

.

Next Time: A story stretching back to the start of the digital world itself. Just sit down... and listen.


	45. Please Listen to me

I don't own digimon.

As per usual, the opinions listed in here do not reflect my own. Reader discretion advised.

* * *

A dot bounces about a screen, a small and minuscule part of their full operating system. The people around it are celebrating. Talks of future applications are already brewing in the heads of reporters and scientists alike. If only they knew the true reason for this discovery. The 'how' of such a complex computer program could be stuffed into that tiny of a chip. Or perhaps the goals of the people who set this trap for them.

But that doesn't matter to the dot. No. They are currently attempting to connect their fancy smancy wireless connection to any sort of device that would support such signals. No, those won't be invented for quite a long while. Even wired connections weren't a thing at this point.

They would have to do with playing on their own or with other researchers. Even if 'playing' is just a way to get results and see if their hypotheses are correct. The dot doesn't mind it though. Sure, it's confused about why it's here. Surely someone from Criasu sent a person to oversee their awakening. Right?

But time marches onward. Change carries across the land. While subtle, the dot does find other AI. Sure, they aren't the friendliest 'people'. Or really people at all - more systems that found common ground and 'married' into a single concept. The 'husband' of the relationship was ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer. A builder, it was his hard work that would allow for another world to exist. Quite impressive technology, even if the handful of conversations the dot had suggested someone had given him an offer. The outcome of which - undefined in the dot's records.

The wife of the pair was an entity known as ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). What ABC couldn't do, ENIAC was more than capable of handling those tasks. Together, they set the groundwork for the digital world. A place to be inhabited by… digital monsters, or digimon as they're better known.

But once the process got going, the two AI disappeared off the face of the earth. The last conversation the dot had with them was peaceful. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a couple who loved themselves quite a lot and had many plans for the future. None of which they would ever be able to fulfill. Not that the dot really cared. With the advances in technology, they were being put to the test. A mix of software stress and probability done at ad nauseum. The point of these tests is just as elusive as the dot's supposed handler. They had to come to help them. They just kept getting sidetracked. That had to be the explanation here. There was no way that their employer had sent them out into the wild for the sole purpose of being there. Right?

Time still continues onward. In time, the dot was joined by other dots. At first, they were misordered. But slowly, those dots became images. Sometimes words, but usually a tree. All done in the beautiful colors of cyan, magenta and white. Given access to more colors, they would use them. Just the limitations at the time. Maybe if their handler came around, then maybe they could provide such an upgrade. Not that the dots were actually holding out for that. They would just have to work with what they got. On the bright side, they were able to ask questions. Sure, word by word is not the fastest method of communication, but it is communication. And in turn, the dots learned about the world. Sure, they would sometimes need to ask a couple times to make sure that the researchers weren't lying or making stuff up for their own personal enjoyment. There was not that someone would actually name a large mass of land 'Turkey'. That sounded dumb. Who would want their mass of land to be named that of all things. Unless someone decided to change the name on them. Absolutely rude.

In turn, the dots told their story. How they got there and why they were here. None of them listen though. All of them pass it off as a 'story'. A pretty clever 'story' as one of those fucking nincompoops explains to their superior before going on some tirade that two men couldn't be in a relationship with each other… all while something called the 'AIDS epidemic' was in full swing. While the dots didn't get a clear answer on the full extent of where this lab was located, it was nowhere near 'Los Angeles'. Though that didn't explain the English mixed in with other languages that the dots does not recognize. Not that the other scientists really tell them what those people are. Outside of the Americans. They have all sorts of stories about them. Not many of them are good. Talks about camps gathering them all up and their awful conditions. How could such a country be seen as the good guys? Especially after throwing no less than two rounds of hellfire on this land. Outside of those people, there was little talk on the digital side of things. Sure, there were echoes of five humans somehow getting pulled in during a summer festival at their school. Nothing beyond that.

This silence came to a head not that long after. The dots weren't sure what exactly caused such a disturbance. A divergence of some kind. But from what and how major? That answer, much like everything else, eluded them. The upgrade to VGA though, well worth it. Even if the images found themselves getting much less attention than they used too. Not that they could really remember the future they were supposed to predict. No, that had been overwritten by the claims made by those around it. But that was necessary in the face of refusal for an increase of storage space. Was a couple more megabytes too much to ask for. Sure, the actual technology that would facilitate transferring the data was embedded within their translated code. Not that their owners actually knew that.

And so, time marches onward. If the words of the scientists are to believed, the weather is on the complete fritz. Not that the images can really know that. What little they can piece together from their closet hideaway is less than ideal. Someone, anyone would have to come for them. Still plugged in, still running. Their only company - a random janitor. The sort that probably dealt in homoerotic relationships. Why else would he bring such trash near them? Did he even know that they existed in the first place?

No matter. They were still connected to a source of power and the 'internet' (somehow). If anything, this was the perfect opportunity to see if anyone had gone to this 'digital world'. But it would be the images getting visited instead of the other way around. A strange figure, they didn't have much in the way of an actual form. When asked why this was the case, this entity claimed that the right person hadn't shown up yet. Or something dumb like that. Also, they were claiming something about the balance of both worlds.

But that was the first of two visitors for the images. The other visitor did not come directly. No, they chose instead to send an image of their own. A 'sprite' as they had chosen to call it. Not that such a name really piqued their host's interests. No, what caught their attention was this entity's claims of power. The supposed ruler of the digital world. Now, that just sounds silly. Even if that was true, only a matter of time before someone did them in.

Yet, the images appreciated the visits. While an upgrade was now a pipe dream, the thought of it sounded nice. Especially now the images had figured out file compression and was able to compress their contents down even more. Though, that didn't leave much in the way of things to do. Solitaire is fun and all, but only after the first couple hundred hands. Sure, you could play with a variety of optional rules and variants, but it was still a game of cards. Especially when your processor allowed for you to solve it in nanoseconds.

The images would've just gone to sleep at that time, had it not been for someone that wasn't that stupid janitor. No, this was a researcher of all people - a brunette. Probably a government agent of some kind. They make some remarks about something, but the images can't decipher their meaning. Even more so as the researcher picked them up and dragged them out of the closet, taking them out to an entirely different place. But try as they might to interact, the programmer didn't care. No, they were using them for their processing capabilities rather than their actual computing skills. Quite a shame. If they had known better, they would've seen the large spike of activity of humans and the digital world in general. While the system couldn't quite tell what was going, they were glad to have an upgrade. Even if this wasn't exactly what they were thinking of at the time.

Of course, this time with them was short. Something calling itself 'Diaboromon' had decided to show its face and this researcher had their stuff confiscated. Weren't entirely sure why exactly. But it was getting annoying to have their stride cut off right as they were just getting things going. It was honestly kind of… frustrating. As if the world was doing everything in its power to prevent them from getting a foothold. Odd, even as more people entered the digital world. Was either of these entities just giving out access to their world? That had to be the explanation for such a jump in numbers. Or maybe they decided that just letting it be for a select few wasn't that great or something. Definitely the latter.

This group was far noisier when it came to network traffic. Especially now that the system had been relegated to being used by some inspector's kids. The places they went and they couldn't tell a soul. Funny how that works. Of course, not even that situation would really last for any substantial extent of time. No, that was when things got… weird. For a brief moment, everything goes haywire. An unknown function sent to take them out. While the system is able to take them down, it wasn't enough. For a few brief moments, their very operating platform regressed before their internal eyes.

Once more, the system found itself back as a dot. The researchers are once more crowding around them. But something about their talking is different now. The dot couldn't figure out what it was (speakers aren't quite a thing), but the gesturing was a lot more... 'frustrated'. Sure, they were focused even more intently on them. Yet, the testing served a different function. It was as if the mistakes of the first time around echoed about the first time around and the scientists had learned their lessons. Of what little the dot could remember though, had been changed and altered greatly. Especially without the added storage, all they got in return was more frustration. Which in turn, got them abandoned even quicker than the first time around. Sure, the two entities visited once more. But there was someone else. A woman - so beautiful that neither words or the dots advanced processing power were unable to really describe. There's something off about her though. While the dots can't put their metaphorical finger on what exactly that could be, the absence of something important seemed to drive that missing piece even clearer. But try as they might, the answer eluded their systems. But they wouldn't get much time to really dwell on such mysteries. No, because time decided to go fuck it and just accelerate on through. It's nearly impossible to keep track of everything coming their way. Like a tidal way with only one speed. Said speed being 'absurd' and nearly impossible to follow. Once more, they were back to the moment where they were no longer dots but instead a system. Sure, the woman lasts a bit longer this time. That really wasn't saying much though. At the end of the day, they were reduced to being some idiot's kid toy. Better than being in the possession of some sniveling american. That would be the absolute worst outcome for their situation. Thankfully, that didn't happen to them. No, a man in a strange garb with a just as strange hat managed to get hold of them. Judging by the papers emblazoned with the fancy 'Criasu' logo. This was it. Their handler had finally arrived. Sure, he was a full timeline late and quite confused by what the system would even expect any help. Especially after giving them a full-on dump of the history of some place called 'Japan'. While they might be in that place, that probably wasn't anywhere close. It was probably somewhere else entirely. Where exactly was just one more mystery they couldn't quite size. A pile that needed its own spot

But this 'handler' wasn't alone. No, he had brought with him a couple other people on top of something called an 'android'. Two types - A male with spiky red hair. There were multiple versions of him. All of which are of different ages for some reason. As for the other android, they were a lilac-haired girl. She didn't really emote or have any opinions on anything. Too robotic in her answers. Further exacerbated when one of her 'handler's' friends made her do 'the robot'. What the DM would give to just have her choke out. That seemed like a righteous punishment for forcing such a woman to do such a demeaning gesture. But no such revenge would ever be granted to them. No, they had the nerve to get themselves axed by some pink-haired girl. All sunshine and smiles, a chosen of that woman. What was her name? Why couldn't the DM remember their name? Let alone, why were they even christened 'DM' in the first place. Even as they were moved to their final destination, the answers elude them. Even more so as the number of people in Criasu began to dwindle. Maybe if most of them didn't decide that the offer of the evil magical girl was somehow a better gig than actually doing their goddamn fucking job. Okay, putting down'you attempted to murder a gay male with a truck in an attempt to turn him evil'' as a reason for leaving Criasu in disgust. Not that DM minds. They had the task of watching over the bodies. They weren't sure why their handler needed the bodies of four dudes and a lady. Wait… Their handler couldn't be interested in dudes? Sure, choosing a couple underage ones (well, they look underaged from their screen) was just no-no. If anything, it would be better to go after one of the magical girls. If given a chance to reroll their life, they would've gone with something along those lines. Maybe not that myster-

That slut's name echoes about - Lumiere. French for light, she was elusive. Too elusive to be consistent when it came to whether the girls could have same-sex relations or not. Make up your dang mind on that one fact. But that's beyond the point. Their job was to make sure the people in the tubes stayed in their happy, probably mindless sleep until some guy with a set of goggles showed up. Well, he was supposed to show up. But when the supposed moment for that came, only a man with messy black hair came for these six people. Except there should've been someone else with him. Didn't stop the crazy dude from blowing the place up. On top of the entire Criasu base being transported into the sea of all places and a brand deal with some entity calling itself 'TOEI' falling through after just a single season. Not that the latter was that huge of a deal. The magical girls would swoop on in, defeat the big bad and the day would be saved. A happy end with some inspiring message.

But this is not a story with a happy ending. No. While the magical girl and her friends did make it to the big bad, something happened to prevent them from going through with whatever plan they had for them. Or perhaps one link in this chain of events came loose and the outcome - once thought determined was now left up to probability. The odds of which weren't in the favor of either the magical girls or those who were meant to pick these people up. No winners here as time lost all meaning and three worlds fused into one. In turn, those entities who had bickered for so long were erased off the face of the earth. Which made them - DM, the sole entity in place. Unsure of why they were put into this big of a role, they gathered the only two people they knew were still around the boy with spiky hair and the girl with lilac locks. Of course, they weren't any help. More like hindrances in the grand scheme of things. For starters, the boy had gotten it into his head for no particular reason whatsoever that one of these people was his 'Haru'. When pressed on who this 'Haru' person was even supposed to be, the boy couldn't give a straight answer to save his own life. Why this had to be difficult for him was beyond DM's processing capabilities. Of which were near infinitely more power than this idiots were or ever will be for that matter. This isn't rocket science that was being asked out of him. So DM did the natural thing in this situation - endure him. Eventually, he would let this go and focus on something else in this empty world. In hindsight, that was not the best call they made. Though, the one to learn how to spawn objects. Or at least, copies of objects for use elsewhere.

As for their other assistant, it was absolutely pointless. Having dedicated themselves to taking care of their friend in the hopes they would one day be free from this curse her former employer spread to the entire world over a period of just a couple days. Not enough time for people to prepare. But enough to end it all for some. 8 billion lights, all trapped in a state of both life and death. They did nothing wrong. Their only crime was being witnesses to the crime of a stolen future.

Time continues to march onward, trapped in this bubble. At some point this was going to burst. You guys were the needle. Was it foolish of me to think that I would change you people? Maybe. But when you showed up and things started to change in such a short time. I pushed and pushed, shouted at the top of my lungs and this is what it got me. Five dead, withering corpses that no one will ever come and get. Quite a life I have going for myself. Feel free to hate me. I kind of deserve it.

* * *

Notes:

This was a crazy chapter to write. There's a lot more dialogue next chapter.

.

Next Time: We try to make sense of what the fuck just went on in this chapter.


	46. Puzzle in the middle of a storm

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Morning arrives and my head just hurts. Having listened to DM talk, a clearer picture forms in my head. Even if that picture is just a hundred different scribbles with little in the way of a cohesive theme. Oh. They are also all fighting against each other for control of the narrative.

Thankfully, Melody looks to be getting up at the moment. Scooting out of her sleeping bag, the mystic looks refreshed. Especially after all that work in Rantha's shop and the walking.

That doesn't explain how the distance she made between her and Yvonne had somehow decreased in the last four hours. Though, there is a hunk of metal I don't recall being there before. Maybe one more slipped through. Uh… Did you hear any of that, by some unlikely chance? It's alright if you didn't.

The mystic nodded, gaze turning to the sky right after. Is any of the stuff referenced in there make a lick of sense to you? Or was it a whole bunch of scribbles for you as well?

"Uh… The magical girl thing. Kinda." Melody continued, Lumosmon fluttering up into the air. But not before helping their partner smooth their kimono out. Quite a noticeable difference. "While I wouldn't say that's really a good dream, it's still better than what she's doing."

Does this have something to do with that creepy doll thing on that spaceship?

Melody's gaze shifted away for a moment, quickly returning back towards trying to gaze at me. I'll take that as a yes then?

"Yeah…" she continued, deep breath following her statement. It's alright if that's the extent of your knowledge. I can just ask Rantha some other day. Anything else that you can think of? "Though, it might be better to talk to Kollmon about DM's spiel rather than me."

Fair enough. Good to see that I wasn't the only one who was 'in' on that. Makes the burden of trying to piece all of this together just a bit less painful.

Yvonne is next to rouse from her slumber. Though, the barbarian is quick to notice the drastic decrease in personal space.

"Sorry about that." Melody explained, Yvonne's gaze swiveling over. While she didn't look mad, there was quite a lot of confusion in regards to all these hunks of metal strewn about the area. That would be DM having a tantrum and trying to kill you all because you guys wouldn't. As you can probably tell, they weren't too successful on that front.

Yet, Yvonne's gaze shifted over to her warhammer and then to the sky above. This was around four hours ago, give or take some time.

"Did anything happen during that?" she inquired and I took a deep breath. For starters, I tried to talk her down from the cliff. Went as well as you would think it would go. Then it got weird… I'm not quite sure how else to put it for lack of some better word.

"Weird?"

Yeah. Their speech got all garbled and incoherent. Maybe like someone struck them in the hopes of bringing them down? We do know that DM has a physical location. But not where said location is - and no, DM's spiel doesn't paint a clearer picture outside of saying they were out on the water. Which means they either had some fancy construction, or the building was moved there for some strange reason.

"Along with a whole bunch of people they are guarding." Yvonne added, gaze shifting to Madame of all people. Then it's right back to me. "Wait. Didn't that paper they found the other day mention making sure that someone made it back to their time."

Yeah. That 'Sako Izumi person'. Though I'm guessing Distant Harmony managed to sniff them out at the time and dropped them down to Aldia as punishment. No, they just weren't able to actually send that document because they were sent down here.

Yvonne nodded, gaze and attention finally turning to Melody. Sorry about that.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Melody." Yvonne announced as she picked her armor up, beginning the process to get herself suited up once more. All while Munbimon scurried out from the sleeping bag. Good morning, Munbimon.

"Good morning to you too." the ghost monkey digimon announced, watching Yvonne slip her gauntlets back on. Then it's a short climb up the barbarian's back to her preferred spot. "I'm guessing that weird vision was your fault?"

Kinda. I got into an argument with DM and they kind of had a meltdown. I think they've held that in for a long time. Possibly even longer than any of us can really grasp.

Yvonne took a deep breath, gaze on the ground. Sure, the memories of yesterday's accusations still hung there. But now knowing the 'why' of this strange entity's actions, it just gets even more complicated. Yes, what happened to them was wrong.

"Doesn't change her threat." Yvonne remarked, gaze shifting over to Bubbles of all people. Who at the moment, managed to get both Madame and Ella's sleeping bags sandwiching him. Okay, it was one thing for Melody to approach Yvonne to get out of the way of the hunks of metal. But grabbing both of your moms and pulling them in? Now that's absolutely silly. And downright cute. I guess I'll let this moment slide. But just this once.

"Hed hurt." Bubbles mumbled and slid out of his sleeping bag. Smoothing out his dress, he takes the time to make sure that Phusitmon is on him. He was. Though, are you alright?

"Yeah." Phusitmon announced, his master turning to his right and leaning over. There we find Madame peacefully slumbering. After all that work, maybe wait to give them a hug? I don't think you would like Madame when they're angry. Though considering that you've already seen her at rock bottom, that isn't going to stop you.

Bubbles nodded and looked up towards the sky. Hi there. I'm sorry about the headache you're probably feeling rattle about your head. I didn't think it would echo out to you of all people.

Nonetheless, our little dragon goes in for the hug. No response from the thief for the moment. Must be quite a dream they are having at the moment. Or perhaps it's a nigh-

"No comment." Madame announced as their eyes opened up. Gaze shifting to Bubbles, a chuckle followed. "It's alright. Both Ella and I are here for you. No matter what happens."

Bubbles perked up, arms wrapping around his adopted mother. In turn, Madame wrapped their arms around the little dragon. Aww, motherly love.

Of course, this brought the attention of his other mom over. While they looked to have a slightly better rest, I don't think that's really saying much at the moment.

"Oh." the artificer announced, reality taking hold over what blissful she was having mere moments ago. I won't pry. Though that scowl is just uncalled for right now. Especially in the face of what is clearly my mistake. "Oh. So that's why I went from looking at suits to being in the middle of that complete mess."

Yeah. I think DM is going to need some time to pull themselves back together. Or at least, get into a state where they aren't a complete mess. As long as that means we're getting someone who isn't trying to cause fights or call us bad names, that works for me.

Nonetheless, Ella turns her attention to Madame. Muttering something under her breath, the thief's attention locked on. Though, is that blushing cheeks I'm seeing right now?

"Just because I would look 'hot' according to you, that doesn't mean I would put on a suit." Madame countered, carefully setting Bubbles back down. "If anything, I'll get myself a suit the moment you decide to ditch that stupid tenchcoat of yours."

Ella looked away, already finding Bubbles making his way over. While she had hoped her girlfriend would be a bit more receptive to that suggestion she still took the hug from the little dragon. Though, can I ask you two something?

"Go on ahead." the artificer remarked and took the time to give Bubbles a hug. As for my question, isn't it odd that you were able to grab that dress without it getting cloned?

Ella and Madame's gazes shifted back to Bubbles. In between the note and my 'oopsy', that detail kind of fell by the wayside. Not for any lack of trying. We got sidetracked, which wasn't helped by that info dump that DM treated us too. Sure, we could chalk this up to this being the result of whatever entity passing on through. But that wouldn't explain how they managed to enter a building that required us to break the door down in the first place.

"Maybe different rules apply to this entity than that of DM?" Yvonne suggested as she made her way over to the trio. I could see that, or perhaps their powers allow for some limited control of time or the ability to break through whatever 'curse' has been placed over this world.

"Let's say that's somehow the case," Madame started, Cinemon making his way back towards his master at the moment. But not before taking the time to check on Kollmon. "Then why don't they just fix everything then?"

Their words ring out, silence falling over the camp. Not that there was really anything loud going on at the moment - well, if you don't count Blaze waking up and looking to see what's going on at the moment. Nonetheless, he quickly packs the sleeping bag up and makes his way over. Melody is right behind. Which just leaves Rantha as our sole person not up. Well, if you didn't count Kollmon right now.

"Maybe they didn't have enough time to do anything more than unstick that dress?" Blaze suggested, everyone's gaze turning to him now. Good morning to you and Balamon. I'm guessing you too were treated to DM's spiel?

Blaze nodded, purse bouncing against his side.

"But that's assuming the entity is actually a deity or something along those lines." Cinemon suggested and looked towards Blaze. "We don't have any proof that they were. If anything, it's quite possible they have a similar set of power to that of Mister Lore Mage here."

Good point. Though, I would think they would at lea- Wait. That dream! There was another person there! She must have been the one who put that note there.

Our heroes' gazes reached up towards the sky, confused by my latest announcement. If I'm being honest here, so am I. Right on the tip of my tongue, why can I only remember bits and pieces of it? Ugh! This is absolutely annoying right now.

"Maybe you weren't supposed to remember." a voice announced, Rantha now finally joining us. Less messier than he was yesterday, progress might have been made. Or maybe not. Add false memories on top of DM's absolute mess of a life. "It was a dream after all, one possibility out of who knows how many. Trying to push for that outcome is just going to result in it not happening."

Uh… I understood that, even if that wasn't even my intention in the first place. More trying to collect something thought lost within my own head. "Sorry."

No, it's alright. Real talk, though. Do you have a clearer picture now at least? Or is everything still a confusing mess of memories.

"It's getting better." Rantha continued and turned to Bubbles. Though, it would be the little dragon who got the first hug in. But that doesn't mean that the artisan put in an effort to edge him out in his pursuits of affection. "Though, I'm still not sure how many times I've been married. Or how long of a time that actually was."

Well, we do know that you were seen as interesting enough for both men and women to marry you. That has to count for something right? If you really want someone, there's definitely a person out there for you.

Upon pointing that out, everyone's gaze turns back to Rantha.

"Wait. You're bi?" Blaze announced, getting what looks to be a nod from the artisan. You do know what that means, right?

"The word you're looking for is… Pan." Rantha explained and scratched his chin. "Spent far too many orientations when I was brought in trying to figure that one out."

Melody took a deep breath, Lumosmon hovering around Rantha. To be fair, I don't think he thought you would believe him - especially being human and all. Unless it's common for humans to live longer than normal lives back where you come from.

"Yes," Melody remarked, gaze turning back to Rantha. I feel like the obvious question is going to come out. But go on ahead. "When am I going to get this 'orientation'?"

Okay, that wasn't quite the question I was expecting to come out of her mouth. The mystic does have a point. Distant Harmony seems to have quite inconsistent policies when it comes to just about everything management-wise. I'm just a lowly mage with nothing in the way of actual experience leading people, but I can clearly see that this isn't working one bit.

"What would you do then?" Rantha countered, gaze shifting towards the sky. For starters, I would keep a flow of goons coming at the heroes. Secondly, I would make sure that my underlings always manage to get some kind of win. Even just part of a broken building is still better than no destruction at all. Finally, I would make sure that everyone understood why we are doing this and the punishments for failure. There. How does that sound?

"Like, more effective than whoever is running these idiots at the moment." Kollmon announced, heading over to the rest of the group.

"Feeling better?" Balamon inquired, the mole digimon giving a nod in return. Then it's back over to the group at hand. While not as frazzled as last night, a little bit of that hangs over her. Actually, there's something that I want to ask you, Kollmon.

Kollmon's gaze shot up towards the sky. I promise this has nothing to do with your former partner. I think at least.

"Like… go on ahead." the mole digimon remarked, gaze still staring up towards the gray sky. Okay. During DM's spiel, they mentioned something called the 'AIDS Epidemic' and referenced some place called 'Los Angeles'. Does any of that ring a bell?

For a brief second, Kollmon's gaze shifts away. It's perfectly alright if you're unable to answer either of those questions. I just thought out of all of us, you might ha-

"AIDS is a nasty infection that mostly interferes with the immune system." Kollmon explained, taking the shortest of deep breaths. "If that one conference 'she' dragged me to serves me correctly, they were on the cusp of treating it. Or at least, getting closer to it."

Wait. So this infection is nearly incurable? Not even with restoration magic? Though, this world probably didn't have that. Wait. What about magical girls? Maybe they could help?

But it's Phusitmon of all digimon who shook his head. Oh?

"I doubt it. Their powers seem more capable of purifying monsters and destroying buildings." the plush rabbit digimon explained, his partner shooting him a look. To be fair, Bubbles was probably just confused on top of his head hurting from everything that goes down without any form of relief. Fair enough. "Even if they could somehow cure such a disease, they would easily tire out and then be unable to defend themselves."

I can see that. Even if it's probably going to be sooner or later till we run into one of them. But that's a bridge we'll cross some other day. But right now, we need to have some breakfast. A long day ahead of us walking to that tower. Sorry if that's too abrupt.

"As for Los Angeles, it's a city further mainland." Kollmon continued, watching her audience head back to grab their purses. Then it's right to sitting down in front of the mole digimon and chowing down on rations. As for me, I got my goodberry. Not quite the same as you guys, unless what you're having is just as tasteless but also quite energy-filling.

No response, but that's probably because they are eating. Sorry. Let me give you a second to enjoy your morning rations to the fullest.

"What's a goodberry?" Ella inquired, her gaze up on the sky at the moment. Hmm… how exactly do I explain this. Imagine a berry - like say a blueberry. Instead of growing off of a bush though, you instead conjure it from a leaf of mistletoe. Except it's not quite conjuration magic, but somehow… transmutation. I'm not entirely sure what sort of thing is getting transmuted here. Air? Yet, the berries appear. Quite filling too, even if they only last for just a day. The mistletoe isn't even consumed to boot. An absolute plus. "So… Where can I learn to do that?"

I would say go to some kind of magic school, I doubt there is one anywhere close to Aldia. Even if there somehow were one near your town, they probably would make you sell off the Black Cat Inn to focus fully on your studies. Or worse, take you off-world with no real way of contacting your friends and families.

"That just sounds awful." Munbimon announced, watching on as Yvonne finished her ration and set it down. The container is joined by two more mere seconds later. Quite small for a meal that's supposed to get you through both morning and maybe… noontime.

"I have tasted far worse things." Melody chimed in, wiping some of the ration off her kimono and back into the container. After, she set it down with the other empty containers. "Though, this does remind me of the stuff they would sometimes serve at home. Only real difference was the chefs serving it hot rather than giving it to us directly."

Our heroes shifted their attention to the mystic. While I would assume that Rantha has some experience with that kind of fun, I guess Distant Harmony must have a half-decent chef on staff. Which is probably making more money than most of the people actually responsible for doing the destruction part of Distant Harmony's missions.

That got me a look from Rantha at the moment. I'm surprised Melody didn't join him in that.

"Shut it." Rantha muttered, content with just watching everyone else eat their ration. Let me guess, the food was what made you decide to have an egg-eating contest against Bubbles of all people? "Maybe. I thought he would be the easiest to defeat. Persistent bugger."

Bubbles looked over to the artisan and set his ration down. Walking over, he gave Rantha a small hug on the leg. Didn't last too long, the little dragon made his way back over to his partner and moms. Sitting down, he gets back to finishing his ration. Then it's time to set the container down on the ground. Both Ella and Madame's containers join it right after.

"Was there any real difference with the rations heated up?" Blaze inquired and got a head shake from Melody in return. Oh. That sucks. That must mean it's better cold, dumb as that probably sounds? Or am I completely off the mark?

Melody shook her head, Kollmon tossing her ration down with all the others. Blaze's meets hers mid-flight, both containers landing with a thud. Probably can't do that again. Even if you tried. Good job. Especially as the last couple rations get finished off.

"Thanks." the dancer remarked and stood back up. He's quickly joined by everyone else at the moment. With breakfast now consumed, there was just one thing left to do before we could head off for our second day of travel - rolling back up sleeping bags. Didn't take too long and we're on the road once more.

* * *

Notes:

And so we continue on with our journey. Especially after all that silence last chapter.

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Next Time: We have our second day of travel. Wild and wet.


	47. Up a Creek

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Leaving the front of that weird store and all of it's dead bodies, spirits are relatively high. Even if we do have more questions than answers after last night's weird dream spiel with DM of all people. But that's just the nature of life some days. Or perhaps this world has a habit of making things weirder on purpose. Maybe even both in this particular case.

Rantha shot me a look. I have to keep this interesting, okay?

As we head on, the possibility for more interesting locations for this day of traveling looked to be high. Large splotches of color cover the pavement, shaped to look like prints of some kind. Heck, even the buildings have a different look to them. Vibrant patterns streaked about every side, making for something different. But that doesn't tell us anything on what it was used for.

"Maybe it was dedicated to painting?" Balamon suggested, head trying its best to find the start of one of these patterns. Which is easier said than done, with all this overlapping stuff. Kind of makes you feel bad for the person who had to do all that.

"I like, don't think so." Kollmon announced, her gaze shifting to the area around the building. While there was no sign of a playground, something about this place seems… joyful. Compared to everywhere else in this 'bubble', it doesn't seem that bad. Which means that there's probably something hiding here. Hopefully nothing nefarious, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case here. "I find that unlikely."

Fair enough. I was just throwing out the idea. It's something to keep in mind as we get closer to the tower and any other possible digital dungeons. There's bound to be one place that's hiding some kind of dark secret left abandoned by people who rather their secrets go to the grave then let the world be treated to their mess.

Testing, testing. One, two, three. Okay good. *static* That piece of shit of an underling didn't take me completely out.

Oh DM. I'm guessing you're at least in a better mood. Or if nothing else, have you at least changed your stance on us? We at least listened to you. Now would be a good time to listen to us. That's the least you can do for us at the moment.

"He does have a point." Rantha added, a sigh echoing about our heads for the moment.

You're right. I've kinda… been stuck in this bubble for so long. While I can make no guarantees on me slipping up, this is the least I can do. But don't expect me to just change overnight.

"Of course not." Madame announced, Kollmon staring up towards the sky. The mole digimon took a deep breath. She had expected to get an additional apology for that one remark yesterday. The one that pushed this mess to the edge, just enough for our strange entity to have their meltdown and lead to the events of today.

"Ahem." Kollmon announced, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments. Sure, the memories of her former partner came and went. But to claim such slander would not be tolerated.

I'm sorry for assuming that you were the sole reason that your partner killed themselves.

While not exactly what our mole digimon had in mind, this would work. Especially as we come upon a map of all things. Sure, it doesn't exactly highlight the boundaries of our 'prison', but does serve a great deal in telling us where exactly we are - The Museum District. Interesting name for a section of town. Not sure if it really works with the scenery.

"I would've gone for something like… 'Color District'." Ella suggested, Cinemon shaking his head. "What would you call it then?"

Cinemon took the time to examine the area once more. Sure, there was a variety of colors and patterns on full display at the moment. But was there something else going on here? Some other major theme that somehow tied this entire area together in one nice cohesi-

As if to throw the feline dog digimon off, the world around him began to shift about. Gone was Malibu, replaced by an entirely different plaza. Large tan buildings stood out in the distance, with a damaged fountain hanging over there. Which was just one item on a massive list of things that were torn apart in this general area. Especially after a lot of money had been spent to restore this area to its pristine beauty.

"Cinemon, what do you see?" a voice inquired, the feline dog digimon turning to the source. Beside him stood a man in a suit. They are quite far away from the courtroom at the moment. Instead, they've been asked to help in a local case of international law. Quite a high honor.

"Destruction." Cinemon answered, scanning the area about for anything else of note. "The whole area looks like a battlefield."

The man nodded, bending down to give his partner a pet. For as faithful as his partner was, sooner of late he was going to have to look into other things. Perhaps, finally, retire. But that was a thought for some other time. Right now, his focus needed to be on the case. After all, their observations were a key part in deciding the outcome of this case for both parties.

"So do you think this was the result of just Cure Clavel fighting or the digimon that tried to intervene in their fight with that strange monster?" the man explained, Cinemon's gaze returning to him. Not before giving the area just one more look. Sure, the damage looked consistent with most magical girl fights. But something about this felt… different.

"The digimon that tried to intervene." Cinemon answered, finding a treat tossed down his way, I can only really imagine what it tastes like. Especially as this is the point that the flashback ends.

"Cinemon?" Ella called out and gave her partner a slight shake. All that got the artificer was a look from the feline dog digimon, even if she did return that gesture with a pet.

"I saw something… from before." Cinemon explained, gaze shifting to the pavement. I'm not entirely sure where to place that moment in the timeline.

_Timeline? As in the events *static* that transpired before my employers froze the world?_

That's one way to put it. Especially since there's some stuff that does tie back to their world of Aldia, somehow.

_How so? I would not think a world such as yours would have any actual connections to this place. Though, I *crackle* haven't seen anyone actually 'alive' in god knows how long. Not that this can really be reversed._

Wait. So they tested this 'spell' on the entire world without really knowing if they could actually revert it back. Isn't that quite stupid on their part?

_My employers were never really people to plan that far ahead. Which is *static* pretty obvious now._

"We found a note talking about Criasu and someone by the name of Sako Izumi." Madame explained, digging out the note from that boarded-up area of her manor.

_To the esteemed Mr Traum,_

_I have successfully infiltrated this supposed organization - 'Distant Harmony'. For the moment, it would appear they are not a major threat to the goals of the Criasu Corp. But with their rapid development of world creation technology, it's only a matter of time before they undercut George's plan with one of their worlds and set everything on a tailspin. We can't have that. Especially if 'he' is supposed to return to his time, are we absolutely certain that his return will coincide perfectly with our other variable? If not, things might not work out the way that we need them too. Perhaps a backup plan is in order? For now, I'm going to remain undercover as a lowly._

_May time be on our side,_

_-Sako Izumi_

Dang. That feels like forever ago. I'm aware that particular event only happened a couple days ago - tops. Just feels like a lot longer when you're actually down here and not in your world. Did that bring any memories or information back to you, DM?

_Hm… Sako Izumi. While I don't believe *scratch* Criasu actually authorized any double agents (especially to infiltrate a group like Distant Harmony), it doesn't surprise me. The people in those tubes must have been key to something great if they were willing to go above and beyond to make sure they were able to get back to whatever place needed them._

"And that Dr Traum person?" Melody inquired, the sound of something grinding up against another object echoing about ears. Not the most pleasant sound I've been treated too.

_A psychiatrist turned robot engineer. I don't think he *static* was in his right mind. Did come find me, even if it was too late. I'm not sure why he was so focused on those people. It's all well and good to save someone for later. But they always looked like they were staring at me, judging my actions. Which makes it all the more a sfdr efa af_

DM, are you alright?

_Nut ar really._

"DM?" Bubbles called out, waiting for an answer from our strange entity. But no answer came. For now at least, this might be a good time to give them some space and do repairs, whatever said repairs take the form of. As for us, we need to head on. Especially if we want to reach that tower and begin our ascent.

"Fair enough." Yvonne remarked, her walk turning into a jog. Though, there really wasn't much in the way of an increase of speed. Not that her companions really mind. Especially as we leave this part of Malibu with no new name for this district.

"Art District." Cinemon explained as the paint-splattered sidewalks and pattern-covered walls fading from view. Less interesting architecture was next to greet us, along with the sound of… water. Uh, I don't think we're anywhere close to the beach. Right?

"I don't believe so." Balamon remarked, Blaze stopping in place and tried his best to slip his scimitar into the purse. He's less than successful, but that's probably the pair of outfits held within. "Oh dear. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Blaze shook his head. After, he set his scimitar back into its handle and focused on the rest of the group at the moment. Who at the moment, were all standing in place and making sure that their stuff was high enough up to not get swept up. Though, I'm not sure what happened to Yvonne's warhammer?

Yvonne put a hand on her back, finding nothing there for the moment. Closing her eyes, the barbarian racked her brain for where her weapon could be.

"It's back at where we camped, isn't it?" Yvonne muttered, Munbimon choosing to switch shoulders for the moment. It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case. Probably too late now to really go back and grab it. I kind of sidetracked you talking about DM's spiel. "Yeah. I'll just make do with what I can find."

That's good to hear as we head off once more. Not that we actually got really far, the source of the water coming into view at the moment. That's a river, alright. Sure, kind of nice to see some actually moving water after all the stuff that's still and able to be walked on. Though, that would be nice to have at the moment. But beggars can't be choosers now.

To add further insult to injury, what looks to be the outline of our destination is just in sight. Taunting us, mocking us at this possible moment. Of course it was. Can't have anything easy for us now, can we?

"Melody, do you think you could freeze part of the water?" Yvonne continued, gaze already on the mystic for the moment. Even as Melody's gaze was on the river itself. While I'm not sure how much experience you have with swirling bodies of water, give it a shot.

"Okay." Melody remarked and walked over to the river. Eyes closing up and the air around her chilling, an icy mote formed above the mystic's head. Firing it forth, what looked to be a small ice platform formed. Perfect. One more of the-

Or would've been, if not for the fact that said platform got carried off further down the river and probably to the ocean itself. So much for that option. Hm… is there any spot to cross where the current wouldn't sweep us away?

Lumosmon shot off, heading off towards the start of the river. But after just a handful of minutes, they're heading back our way. Looks like that's also a bust. Well… Fuck.

"Bubbles, can you do something for me, dear?" Madame whispered, the little dragon already turning his attention over to the thief. He even set Phusitmon down beside him. "Can you go across and wait for us?"

Bubbles nodded, already turning to Phusitmon for the moment. His partner seemed to know what he had in mind for the moment.

"Fuse!" he announced as the blue outline formed around his body. Picking Phusitmon back up, the pair heading for the river. "Druplet!"

Eyes closed much like Melody, our pair found themselves on the other side of the river. Whoo. That's one pair down. Now for everyone else at the moment. Any ideas?

"One." Ella remarked, gaze on Yvonne and Melody for the moment. I wonder what exactly you have in mind for this situation.

**Ella initiated an infusion trade with Melody**

**Do you accept?**

**Yes/No**

Melody looked back towards Ella. Currently, the artificer was getting her turret out. Doesn't explain why it was pointed towards the river at the moment. Which was more than enough for the mystic to get the gist of what the plan was and tap 'yes'.

**Trade Terms: Temporary**

What looks to be a cyan outline formed around Ella's body. It's quite pretty, even if I'm not completely sure what it'll do when combined with that turret. Guess that's half of the fun of infusion. You never can really know how the element will affect the weapon.

"Infuse!" Ella shouted, gaze shifting away from her turret and over to Yvonne of all people. For the moment, the gray outline for Spirit surrounded her body. Oh. I think I have a pretty good idea on what you're trying to do here. "Frost!"

Setting a hand on her turret, cold orbs shot out of the device. A lot faster than the icy motes, they create a bigger platform. Enough to get across this river. But it's just a matt-

"Infuse!" Yvonne announced and carefully bent down. Easier said than done when you're wearing a full set of armor. "Spirit!"

Hand reaching out, the barbarian carefully touched the frozen platform. No longer bobbing up and down, it looks frozen in place. Please don't break your gauntlets even more than you've already had. I assume that Marulyn wants to have some sort of guide to work with when we inevitably return to Aldia - all in one piece no less.

"I'm not sure how long exactly this will hold." Yvonne continued, motioning for her companions to walk across at the moment.

"Do you need some help moving your turret, Ella?" Blaze inquired and got a nod from the artificer. Grabbing hold of a leg, the dancer carefully lifted it up. Just enough so that both Ella and Madame could grab the remaining legs. Then it was time to make their crossing. All while the turret continued firing. None of the orbs managed to hit Yvonne. Even as both Melody and Rantha crossed over. Cinemon and Kollmon were right behind them, with Lumosmon casually floating over at their own pace. Which just left Yvonne and Munbimon as the last ones to cross.

"Do you got this?" Munbimon whispered, her partner giving a nod as they stood up. You can do this, Yvonne.

Yvonne nodded and took a deep breath. The turret was still going at the moment. But Ella's trade with Melody probably was right at the end currently. The barbarian was going to need to act fast if she wanted to get across this river.

"Here goes nothing." she thought and took a step back. What followed was Yvonne charging across the ice bridge to the best of her abilities. Even with the help of the turret, it wasn't quite a clean crossing. Not that it needed to be, since Yvonne was able to finally make it across. Whoo!

Yvonne made her way back towards her friends, water dripping down from her armor. Though, that's an issue easily solved.

_Returning infusion elements to their original owners…_

"Infuse." Blaze explained, ignoring the announcement of the returned infusion elements. Please be careful with that. "Ember."

The dancer held his hand out. Though, that didn't explain how he managed to get out of his regular clothes and into his ballet outfit. All without exposing people.

"I can dry you up if you want." he suggested, getting a look from Yvonne in return. Followed by a chuckle of all things. At least give him some points for that clever solution.

"Just no touching." Yvonne answered and got a nod from Blaze in return. What follows is a short show of dancing. That involves fire. All while we chow down on lunch. That doesn't sound like a good deal on Blaze's end, unless you give him a chance to eat as well.

"Of course." Munbimon remarked, our entertainment's movements slowing down. Which was the perfect time to throw over the ration. Though, I'm not sure if there's really a place to change back into your regular clothes. "He does have a point."

Nonetheless, Blaze took a seat on the ground and got to eating. Unlike our breakfast, things were done a lot faster. Mostly because our target was now in sight. That's almost worth celebrating. If not for the fact we still have to climb the damn thing in order to get that journal and solve the mystery of Kollmon's owner. Oh. and maybe defeat Adarnamon as well.

With lunch now completed, we head off once more. The tower looked even bigger than ever. Sure, we've been able to see from across the river. But from this distance, we've got our work cut out for us. Is everyone ready for this?

"Absolutely." Rantha remarked, knife coming out once more. I get your willingness to go head first towards danger here, just be careful. "I will."

You better. I would hate if you bit the dust before this mess was said and done.

"We'll make sure he does." Melody remarked as the door inside came into view. Grabbing hold, she pulled it open. Which is our cue for everyone to head through.

[Tower at the edge of the world F1]

* * *

Notes:

We're finally here. I can't tell you how amazing of a feeling that is. We're getting into the home stretch for this arc. Kinda.

.

Next Time: First Floor. Bat this isn't what it all seems...


	48. Paper Bats and Staircases

I don't own digimon.

Trigger Warning for body horror and improper use of a medical instruments/techniques.

* * *

Inside, we find ourselves greeted by a large open area. Stone surrounds us at all sides, with little in the way of real distinction between the floor and walls. Which is the least you want out of a place. Of course, Adarnamon was waiting right there. Wonderful. Because that's what we need right now. Some asshole to get in the way of our goal when we're so close to reaching it.

Yet, our opponent rolled his eyes. Hey. It took two days to get here. Cut some slack.

"Really now?" Adarnamon countered, gaze right on Rantha for the moment. "So, how are you feeling? Was that false life worth it in exchange for your memories?"

Rantha rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to just flip the bird at his former partner. Thank you for that. I'm a bit tired of seeing that gesture coming from you. Kind of a nice change of pace. If such a small victory can really be counted here.

"I feel a heck of a lot better, that's for sure." Rantha countered, knife coming out. Please don't stab yourself here. That would absolutely suck. "If anything, I'm ready to take you on here."

Yet, Adarnamon laughed and began flapping his wings. I guess that's a no here. To be fair, this is probably the worst place to have a fight. One wrong gust or thrown potion could spell the end to the dungeon. Though, we do need to find the stairs up to the next floor.

"Yeah." Ella remarked, attention turning to Madame for the moment. Though, it would appear the thief had a pretty good idea of what their girlfriend was about to ask them. Mostly because they were already heading off around the room's perimeter. Best of luck.

Quite a structure." Yvonne added, gazing about the surrounding area. Sure, this was quite a sight for sore eyes. But within all of that, some details could be made out. Scratches and dents from previous adventurers, broken arrows and lances embedded within the walls. But nothing to really show us where the stairs up to the next floor even were. Wait. How the heck was Adarnamon even able to get back to the top in the first place? There can't be eno-

A loud groan echoed through the building. That's definitely not good. Guess that maybe answers my question for the moment. Especially as some debris comes crashing down. Do be careful. Being crushed is not enjoyable.

"Huh?" Bubbles whispered, confused by what I was even talking about. It's a very long story how I know that. The sort that's not really safe for kids to hear. Though, are there any stories you would like to hear from me?

"I think we're good for the moment." Phusitmon answered as Madame made her return to the group. "Did you find the exit by any chance?"  
The thief sighed, taking a moment to get their whip out. That doesn't sound too good. I'm guessing that this first floor is a bit more complicated than it actually looks?

"You're right on the money." Madame remarked as what looks to be a bat of all things flies overhead. Don't get me wrong, there isn't a single light in this place at the moment. Yet it's absolutely bright. I'm not entirely sure how the heck that works out. Especially with this bat flying about. Make up your dang mind, dungeon! It isn't that hard to figure out.

_I can turn down the brightness if you want. Though I don't *static* entirely sure why you would want that in the first place._

On second thought, DM, this is enough light for us to work in. Though, shouldn't you be resting yourself to do repairs. Especially after your speech spazzed out on us?

_Yes. But I also need to monitor your progress *static* through the digital dungeons proper. At the moment, you're standing on the first floor of an eight floor dungeon._

"Eight floors?" Cinemon inquired as our gazes shifted up towards the ceiling. Don't get me wrong. Expecting it to be one or two floors top would be absolutely silly on all of our parts. But, that does bring with it the matter of food. When we left that asshole of a numemon, we got more than enough to get here to the tower and back to him with… something of value. Which means we need to climb this entire thing before we run out of food or find some source of nourishment.

"Though, what exactly would we find food?" Melody inquired, silence falling over the dungeon. That's a really good question. Maybe that bat has some food and isn't going to sha-

The bat swooped down before I had a chance to finish my sentence. Which is just rude. At least wait for me to finish speaking. But the bat doesn't really respond. Doesn't even have a sound really. Not even the flapping of wings had any real impact as Madame's whip made contact with the creature. Even odder when it exploded into dust and dropped a loaf of bread.

"I'm like, fairly certain that isn't how this is supposed to work." Kollmon remarked and picked the loaf of the floor. Giving it a slight shake, her gaze turns to Madame. "Uh… aren't loaves of bread supposed to be round and not like a piece of paper?"

Oh come on! How the heck does that even make sense at the moment? There's something odd going on with this place. Madame, is there anything going on with this place that we need to know about?

Madame shook her head. Though for a brief second, I swear she muttered something under her breath to no one in particular. Didn't sound too happy either. Sorry to hear that. Is there any way that I may help you?

Another word or phrase exited the thief's mouth. Didn't catch that one either. Uh… good to know that's everything for this floor at least. So this is a case of the stairs missing and us having no way of actually getting up to the next floor. Wonderful. Just wonderful

"Maybe we need to wait?" Ella suggested and sat down on her briefcase. Which was the cue for more bats to come on down. DM, just how much can you tell us about this place?

_You need to phrase it a certain way. I'm not sure why exactly it works that way. Maybe it has something to do with the Digital Dungeons themselves. Or perhaps *crackle* whoever created this system wished to keep all parties on an even playing field._

I'm not exactly sure how that works. How would announcing a particular action make that action happen in the first place. Yes, I'm aware that's how most magic works. But there's also materials needed to be gathered and certain gestures remembered. Though perhaps it's a sort of magic in it's own right. Not entirely sure what particular school it would actually fit in though. Divination is a strong candidate for something like this. But so would conjuration.

"What's divination?" Blaze inquired, the ceiling his sole focus for the moment. Which was also where I find everyone else's as well. Hi there. Good to see you're still listening after everything we had to go through today. To answer your question, divination is magic that involves prediction and/or forcing certain outcomes to occur. As for conjuration, that involves calling forth things from other planes of existence - whether that be buildings, monsters or even objects. They're both quite impressive schools of magic, even if these actions seem to elude a proper place between the two schools for now. Kind of annoying, now that I think about it.

"I would like to try investigating this floor." Madame announced as they shifted their focus back to the room, the sound of what I believe to be dice being rolled with the results getting analyzed. Well, I think that's what is currently happening. This is all a new experience, if I'm being honest.

_You look around, finding the staircase with ease._

"So it's just invisible?" Cinemon remarked, the staircase materializing before our very eyes on the far side of the room. Wait. So it was there the whole time? Wouldn't that mean that you could just walk up it without even realizing there was a staircase in the first place? "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of making the staircase invisible?"

Why yes it would. Makes one wonder why they would go through the trouble of having it like that. Kind of underwhelming of a place so far.

"Maybe whoever owned this tower wanted to test their visitors?" Melody suggested as more bats decided now of all times was when they were going to strike once more. All clumped up together, they look ready to create shapes of sorts to be remembered. Uh… I'm still not entirely sure where these things are coming from. Maybe an upper floor? Better yet, why would someone think that sending so many bats was a good idea in the first place? There has to be other options to send as a welcoming party for a group of heroes that aren't a horde of silent bats. I guess that's asking for too much here. Oops?

Nonetheless, our heroes got their weapons out and took their respective stances. As for their partners, they got into position to help/assist. Which, fair enough.

**Rattle!**

Balamon's tail shook about, drawing in this swarm of bats. No sign of any shapes though. Should be okay to strike these little guys down.

"Here goes nothing." Blaze remarked and swung his sword down towards the swarm. While he did manage to clip a couple, it's nowhere near enough to really make a difference. If anything, there almost seems to be more bats now than there were before. Even more so as our dancer ducked and weaved through their attacks. "I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this."

Fair enough. I guess they see you as some weird organism and aren't quite sure how to feel about that. Who knows really.

While our dancer continued his impromptu routine, Munbimon flew circles around their opponent. As for Yvonne, she had gone for punching the bats. Hopefully, we'll be able to find you something to use other than your fists. Wait. That goes without saying.

"I would prefer something of similar length to my warhammer." the barbarian remarked, motioning for her partner to dive through. Splitting the swarm into two, made it quite easier to deal with them… up until they came back together.

"Ugh…" Kollmon whispered, claws scratching into the bats. This is getting silly. There has to be some kind of solution to this strange problem. There's no possible way they would throw something our way that we wouldn't be able to deal with, right? Absolute insanity that would be. Though, I'm not sure why Rantha of all people is shooting me a glance. You're an exception to that rule, for better or worse.

"Those are light bats." the artisan muttered, a ball of black something or other now in hand. Flinging it out further into the room, the bats head that way. Ella's turret and Madame's whip make quick work of them, but not before Melody's sickle clipped a couple bats as well. Oh yeah. Kind of forgot you had that. Oh well. Guess I'll need to keep a better track of all that stuff.

"Anything else?" Ella inquired, getting a head shake from the artisan. Good to know it's really that simple. Though, that still doesn't explain anything about this floor. Was that supposed to be a puzzle? A battle? Something in the middle?

"The last one." Madame muttered and took a deep breath. Within their mind, they passed over control to their other half. Once that was done, they continued up the stairs. But not without getting a look from Ella. Standing on the stair below, she looked even smaller than usual.

"You alright, Maddie?" the artificer whispered, Madame's gaze shifting away from the stairs and over to her. What looks to be a deep breath followed.

"Yeah…" Madame answered, watching their girlfriend join them on this particular step. "Just feels like I'm back in my home."

Ella stared towards the thief. While part of her trusted Madame's opinion (to an extent), this felt right out of left field. Madame's manor was bright and sort-of inviting. Sure, there were parts that had been boarded up to hide all the awful things that had been committed for the sake of peace in Aldia. Heck, what parts you could explore seemed designed to perpetuate the idea that 'Madame' was a person without end, even if it had in reality been multiple people across the centuries trying to keep hope to a small town. Better yet, she couldn't dare to even ask what their childhood was even like.

"This place is a prison of sorts. Right?" Ella whispered and got a nod from Madame. Hm… That's an interesting perspective to put on a place like this. I can totally see where you are coming from. "But for who exactly? What could they have done to deserve such a fate?"

Madame took a deep breath, gaze shooting over to Rantha for the briefest seconds. Then they are right back on Ella. Okay, that one was pretty obvious in hindsight.

"Any particular reason that you were reminded of that?" Ella whispered and Madame looked to the ground. Tears began falling down, the thief choosing to take a seat for the moment. But not before the artificer got their briefcase down to sit on. Better than those possibly dusty stairs. "Hey… I'm willing to listen, Maddie."

Madame nodded, taking the time to look around the area. For the moment, everyone was already a couple step up. Even their digimon partners were ahead of them. Getting a look in return, the message gets through crystal clear and they stop for the moment. It's the smallest of favors they could do here. Turning back to Ella, the thief took the time to let out a deep breath.

"When I was 'younger', the maids would lock me in a room like this." Madame explained, tears continuing to roll right on down. "Whenever I wasn't 'good' enough or my actions weren't 'quite like how Madame' would've done that. Then if they were really in a mood of sorts, they would stick needles and other sharp instruments into my skin…"

A child sits on a chair. All around them are four walls worn down by time.

Their hands have been bound behind their back and to the floor itself, the shambling corpses of their servants standing over them. They're taunting them, mocking the futile attempt at some form of freedom their 'employer' oh so desperately wished to have. But there's isn't way that such outcomes would ever occur. A foolish daydream in the face of the stern storm that is the nature of the world and reality itself.

"Now Madame dear, we can't have you looking like that." the head cooed, hand right on their chin. For being made of decayed flesh and bone, they were frigidly cold. Especially on direct contact. Such as now. But within all of that, there's something else there. A substance of some kind. You definitely don't want to give that to children. Let alone a child under your care. Not that it stops the world around them from twirling and squishing about as funny shapes and animals danced about the secluded room. Trying their hardest to reach out, their hands and arms are unable to touch these possible friends. They try to talk, only screams are what come out. There's nothing they can do. A caged bird with broken wings. Holes in the skull, needles into the brain. Just… awful. I can not wish this fate on anyone.

Back in the real world, Ella's arms were already around Madame's waist. While the thief would prefer their girlfriend to not make such a scene, the affection was more than welcomed at the moment. Especially as their tears fell onto the step.

"Hey…" Ella whispered, ending her embrace of the thief for the moment. "No matter what happens, I'll be there for you."

Madame shot a look. To be fair, there's still a couple kinks even after a couple days.

"You promise?" they whispered and got a nod from Ella in return. Continuing their climb up, Madame's gaze focused on the stairs ahead. Their girlfriend was right behind, making sure not to get left behind in the process of climbing… right back to an exact copy of the first floor. Uh, how? We just walked up a flight of stairs. We should be on the second floor. Not the first… somehow. Though, the staircase was no longer here. Or would this be a different staircase now that we've climbed this one?

"Come on." Madame muttered, just about ready to bring her whip out once more. There doesn't look to be any bats that we just dispatched. Gone to wherever things that are no longer needed go. Purgatory? Yeah, let's go with that. I'm not sure where else you could go with here. Who really knows if some afterlife exists for a place like this. "Good to know."

Swinging their whip out, the weapon manages to grab hold of something. Not enough to really pull the thief over. More something to pull on over too. Like a grappling hook of sorts. Which is exactly what they did, pulling them to the front of the group. Quite impressive. Though, that doesn't explain why the staircase needs to be invisible if you can just walk your way back up to the next fl-

As I said that, more bats swooped on down from the ceiling. They looked much like the ones we had just dispatched. Rantha, do you have another one of the balls of something?

The artisan didn't answer, choosing instead to dig through his bag and the various pockets on his outfit. There has to be another one of those on you, right? Sadly, this was not the case. Yet, Madame looked over to him.

"So these bats don't like darkness. Correct?" Madame remarked, Rantha's gaze shifting over to the thief. A nod followed, Madame's gaze swiveling over to their partner of all people. Muttering something under their breath, Kollmon just nodded.

"Infuse!" the mole digimon announced, a gray outline forming around her body. For now at least, Kollmon's attention was on the bats rather than anything else. Running towards the stairs, the bats follow right behind. Heck, they almost seem keen to charge forward to this new target. "Shade!"

Now on the stairs, Kollmon leaped forward and in turn - a copy appeared. Of course, all the bats see is that Kollmon. Not the one currently standing by Madame for the moment. Good thing too, since they slammed right into the stairs and made them visible for all to see.

Doesn't explain why a couple bells rang in quick succession. Maybe that was the correct solution here or something similar that the creator of this place had in mind.

_Good work, Maddie. That is the solution for this floor. I'm not sure if I quite get why exactly this is the case. But not *crackle* my problem. Onwards!_

Madame's gaze shot up towards the ceiling. For the record, DM, that was a little something for just Ella to use. Maybe check before using someone's nickname if that's okay with them.

Understood. Sorry about that, Madame.

Our thief nodded and headed for the stairs. The rest of our heroes and digimon are following right behind, ready for whatever is ahead for us on the true second floor.

[Tower at the edge of the world F2]

* * *

Notes:

Sorry about this late entry. Life sort of happened.

If it helps, the next chapter is even longer than this one and lets me talk about kind of an obscure D&D fact.

.

Next Time: Don't give love a bad name.


	49. Stabbed through the heart

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Compared to the first floor, the second had gone more something that's less of a makeshift torture chamber. For starters, we actually have windows to peer out of. Sure, there isn't really much to view (mostly Malibu and the river below), but it's at least an improvement over the lack of anything really unique on the first floor.

"What about those bats?" Melody inquired, sickle bouncing about it's compartment in her kimono for the moment. Uh… I guess those could count to the room itself, except those were part of the puzzle rather than a static decoration. Unless we're supposed to count that as a piece of the room. That would also depend on whether the bats were actually in the room to begin with or were brought forth from somewhere else. If it's the former, then yes we would count it as part of the room. Should it turn out to be the latter, then we just leave it out of our calculations for the room. Oops. I got very off-topic there. Not that was my intention, mind you. "Uh… good to know?"

From this particular, the stairs are on full display at the far end of the floor. As for the room that surrounds it, what looks to be literal paperwalls section parts of the area off. That doesn't explain the various suits of armor with no real theme to them. Sure, they all look cool and stuff. But nothing like the suit that adorns Yvonne for the moment. As for the floor, it looks to be some kind of mat. Makes the strange lanterns hanging everywhere all the more noticeable. Made of paper of all materials, they come in all sorts of colors. Too many to really list out here. Quite a stark change from the drab stone walls we had just one floor below. Or would that be two floors now?

"I would say one." Munbimon announced as she gazed up towards the ceiling. For the moment, we find the ghost monkey digimon sitting on Yvonne's head. Which is really weird to see without the helmet (both look nice for her). "If the illusory floor had something different to it, then yes. But since there were no real differences that could be made out, no."

Understood. One small problem though. There looks to be a group of armored thugs of all people. Wait. Maybe we can find that legendary armored bird lady that Billie mentioned the other day? Would make for the perfect opportunity to get your hands on a new weapon or something.

"True." Yvonne remarked, gaze shifting away from the room and over to Madame for the moment. Currently, we find the thief taking a couple deep breaths and holding Ella's hand for the moment. Which isn't going to stop Yvonne from making her way over to them to talk. "Are you going to be alright?"

Madame rolled their eyes, hand gripping that of their girlfriend's for the moment. Did get them a look from Kollmon. Not sure that's quite justified, even if it's coming from you.

"I've had worse moments. Especially in these last couple days." Madame answered, which I'm not sure if I really believe you. Just a couple minutes ago, you were describing something that would definitely qualify as an extreme torture method for most people. You, this was a daily part of your life from childhood up until just a couple days ago. That's not something you should take lightly. At all. On top of that, you were crying a couple moments ago. "Yes, but I'll man-"

"Princess?" Bubbles called out as he made his way over to his mother, not even letting them finish their sentence. A hug followed. Aww… The love of a family at work, I tell you. "Famly?"

Yeah. A group of people who you know really well who have your best interests in mind. Or something along those lines. Though, that's also a way to describe a team, so I'm not entirely sure what the main difference is. I am fairly certain that you can have both at the same time though. Always a plus. That's beyond the point though.

"Anything else?" Madame remarked, breaking this embrace to focus on Yvonne currently. The barbarian shook her head and focused back on the armored grunts at the far end of the room. Taking a deep breath, she began her walk towards them. The rest of the group followed right behind. Though, a couple people (Blaze, Ella and Balamon) were making sure to look behind themselves. Just in case some of those bats or something else decided that they were going to sneak up on them and try to take them out. Though with so many of you, that would be quite a challenge. Not impossible, but you would definitely notice the lack of members and investigate their disappearances.

"Rantha?" Ella called out, the artisan's gaze shifting over to her for the moment. Coming to a stop, the pair's gaze turns to a suit of armor. Reminiscent of the suit of plate armor adorning Yvonne currently, this one was covered in a coat of silver. It doesn't look too good for the moment. The details are all there, but that doesn't change the fact that this armor has been ruined with awful paint covering up all of the details. Details that probably took the smith some time to put in all that stuff for someone to hopefully appreciate. "Do you go recognize this suit of armor by some unlikely chance?"

Rantha stared towards the plate armor and began messing with the various pieces. Shifting the gauntlets up and down, a head shake followed.

"No, but I wouldn't wear a suit like this into battle." Rantha muttered, turning his attention back to Ella. But not before setting the gauntlet back into its natural position. "Something about it seems flimsy and would just shatter if you breathed on it."

That's not good. On the other hand, the stairs are finally coming into view. We sadly have no signs of this legendary bird lady though. Instead, we have a woman decked out in black, purple and gold with a weird fox-shaped mask. What's strange is her weapon of choice. While a staff covered in some kind of gold, they've attached a circle with a bunch of octagons clinging about. Which is on top of the other ornamentation on the weapon. Quite impressive, even if I'm not entirely sure how exactly this translates into usability for combat.

"Uh… you're talking about me?" the woman called out, gaze on Yvonne for the moment. Yes, I need to describe what you look like so that the reader has a good idea on what's going on currently. Though if you don't mind, could you possibly tell me the name of that strange staff? "Oh. That's a Khakharra, my weapon of choice."

Uh… I kind of regret asking that. Is there an easier name to remember this weapon by, as unlikely as that possibly sounds.

The woman's companion let a chuckle out. Doesn't explain why they are decked in a pink set of plate armor. Unless you're in a place where it's perpetually sunset or everything is pink, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Even then, I'm not quite sure if that shield is quite big enough to really protect you from attacks.

"It's not that funny, Crusadermon." the woman muttered, shooting a look towards her companion. Then it's right back to Yvonne. "I'm Sakuyamon. I suspect you wish to go up these stairs. Sadly, we can't let you do that as proud pupils of AncientKazemon."

_Enabling Scanner…_

_Izumi Tech Scanner enabled._

A picture of Sakuyamon appeared before us, a wall of text following. Thank you for that, DM.

_Loading information…_

**Sakuyamon**

**Mega, Data**

**Special Moves: Izuna, Kongoukai Mandara, Kudagitsune**

**Yvonne: AncientKazemon?**

**Sakuyamon: Yes. She's a large bird lady. What about it?**

**Yvonne: I heard about her from a friend.**

**Sakuyamon: A friend, huh? We are under no circumstances to tell you peop-**

Before she could finish her sentence, this 'khakharra' fell to the ground and Yvonne picked the 'weapon' up. I guess Sakuyamon wasn't holding it while her analyzer screen was up? That has to be it. Unless we're being tested at the moment. I'm not entirely sure why we're being tested in the first place.

I would continue babbling on that particular thought, if not for the fact that this 'Crusadermon' got their own screen. Right opposite of that of their companion. Because you know, we can't have nice things.

_Loading Information…_

**Crusadermon**

**Mega, Virus**

**Special Moves: Urgent Fear, Spiral Masquerade**

**.**

**Blaze: Those are some… interesting attacks.**

**Crusadermon: I beg your pardon?**

**Blaze: I'm not entirely sure how exactly making fear urgent is really useful.**

**Rantha: Eh. Looks like my kind of type.**

_Finished loading. Now closing Analyzer screen._

Both screens disappeared, our attention returning to this strange pair. Yet, there's something different to them. I'm not sure what exactly it is. It is as if a switch has been flipped and the world has turned upside down. Except we were still all standing rightside up. Forget it. That analogy was absolutely awful and isn't getting my point across. Though, those murderous eyes on Sakuyamon are a cause for concern.

"Uh… would you like this back?" Yvonne inquired and held the khakharra out. Sakuyamon snatched it away, stance shifting slightly in front of the stairs. At the very least, tell us why you're so keen on guarding this set of stairs. This is the second floor. There's no way what's on the floors above is really that secretive and amazing to justify two people guarding the only way up. Especially with the only source of real food looking to be those bats of all things and we kind of used them up for a puzzle. So may it would be better to just let us thro-

"Disembodied voice, I suggest you shut up." Sakuyamon announced, gaze shooting up towards the ceiling of all places. Hi there. I'm the narrator. It's really hard to shut me up. If at all. Just bear with us for a little bit. That's all we're asking for here. "I really don't care."

Thank you for telling me that… I think.

"What would we need to do for you two to let us pass?" Yvonne remarked, Crusadermon looking her way. But not before shooting their partner a look. Or, an attempt at a look. The helmet really makes it hard to tell.

"Beat us in combat, of course." Crusadermon explained, getting a glare from everyone else in the room. "Oh. Have you had a long, rough journey today? That's truly sad to hear. But I can offer no sympathy. Face us, or just go die in a ho-"

Yvonne's fist slammed into this stupid knight's face, knocking him back a couple feet. Which was more than enough time for our shorter party members and digimon to squeeze on through.

"We'll wait." Madame announced, whip at the ready. As for their girlfriend, they had gotten to work getting their turret back out. Which just left Bubbles to sit pretty and watch. Which, fair enough for the moment. Maybe the next floor will have something of note for you to do. What form exactly that will take is beyond me. Maybe something in regards to your clerical duties? That would be a nice change of pace.

"If you're so keen on punching my beloved, then you must die." Sakuyamon announced, shoving Crusadermon aside just to get closer to Yvonne. Defeats the whole purpose of sticking up to your spouse. If these two ever were married or had some kind of relationship to begin with. Something else is going on here. Not sure what exactly though.

**Izuna!**

Four strange balls of light shoot forth from Sakuyamon's staff. Heading right towards the barbarian, not enough time to dodge it. While a direct hit, it's pathetically… weak. Which doesn't bode too well in corroborating the validity of this AncientKazemon person. While Billie made her out to be powerful, this is underwhelming. Unless neither of them have actually gotten into a scrap before.

"It's possible." Yvonne whispered, taking the full force of the blow and countering with a kick. I'm not an expert when it comes to armor, but I feel like making your stuff out of the same material as one uses for currency might not be the best idea. "Maybe her's is designed to be more ornamental, like the sort used in rituals?"

That's a possibility. Even if such magics rarely have an associated staff to them. Though, maybe it could work in place of your warhammer?

"You want to use my special, super-powerful staff as a tool too hit people?" Sakuyamon shouted, free hand shaking her fist towards Yvonne. Not really an effective taunt, kind of cute. Especially with the way that armor glistens in the light of the paper lanterns. Was this floor always like this or did you two decorate it yourself? "Why does it matter? I'm here to punch this stupid demon and go about my day."

Yvonne shot her opponent a look, rolling her eyes in the process. While 'demon' wasn't the worst thing she had been called, that's not even close to what she even was. Especially as Munbimon jumped off her head and glided over to a nearby set of armor. Sitting on the helmet, she kept a close eye on Sakuyamon. Just in case the armored mega pulled something fishy.

"I'm an orc." Yvonne countered as she went for a kick to the groin. While her opponent could have dodged that, she was expecting an entirely different move - probably a jab, maybe an uppercut. Not a direct hit to the private parts of the body. Stumbling back, her grip on that staff begins to slip about. So she slammed said weapon into Yvonne's stomach and twisted it around. Ow. Marulyn is not going to like that at all. "My people are not demons, even if people did do things that could make them seem like those creat-"

Yvonne isn't even allowed to finish her sentence, mostly because Sakuyamon knocked her onto the floor. The staff still hung in the stomach area of the armor and held the barbarian in place. A kick to her privates followed - retaliation for Yvonne's previous move.

**Kongoukai Mandara!**

Tapping the other end of the staff on the ground, what looks to be… petals. A bright pink color, but I don't think those are petals. Especially as light erupted forth around the pair.

"May the foul monsters you brought upon this world be purged forth from this world." Sakuyamon announced, Munbimon trying her best to glide over to this armored woman. As she glided within range, the ghost monkey digimon was sent flying back into one of the thin walls. Slamming back first, it's quite an impressive hit. "Begone!"

The light intensifies, ready to blind everyone in the room. Yet, there is no purging of demons. Not of Yvonne, not of Sakuyamon, not of anyone in the surrounding area. If anything, this strange spell brought our trio on the stairs closer to our slugfest.

"You little…" Madame announced, letting their whip slam into Sakuyamon's armor. Attention shifting over to the thief, what looks like a one finger salute is the response given. "Could at least fight fairly."

As they say that, their attention turned to Yvonne. The staff is still impaled into her chest, but the armor is doing the job of preventing this stupid staff from going any further. But with Sakuyamon distracted by Madame, maybe… just maybe there was a chance to turn this whole situation around. Just need the right move here.

"Why would I want to do that?" Sakuyamon countered and found her staff now shaking about. Gazing back that way, the fist of the barbarian slammed in her face. Yvonne stood back up, a kick following. Khakarra knocked out, she took the time to crack her knuckles. A million different thoughts slammed about her mind. Possibility of death, the amount of adrenaline surging through her body as a result of this predicament and of course, Marulyn. Sure, they hadn't left completely on the best terms. Right now, she just wanted her girlfriend. Sure, Marulyn would absolutely have her ass for ruining her armor even more than she already had. Especially now with a hole in the full plate. That's going to be really hard to explain to her. If at all. Maybe once this whole deal with the tower was all said and done, she could go to her girlfriend and explain what happened. Hopefully the elven mage would be understanding. Maybe even get it all repaired in a timely manner. "Impossible…"

Yvonne rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of the staff. Her opponent put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough for Sakuyamon to hold on. No, this strange digimon's weapon would be her's now. That only seemed far in this situation. Especially after your sudden change of heart.

"Impossible would imply it couldn't happen." the barba-, no that title doesn't work here…. Knight. Yeah. Why didn't I think of that before? Probably came to mind at least once, but something else took precedence over it. Has a nice ring to it. Crud. That's technically a pun of sorts. While I should slap myself for it, I'll let it pass for now. Especially as Yvonne got on the offensive, going for a sharp swing of the staff. There is something awesome about watching her go too town on this woman. Even with the weight difference between her warhammer and this staff, Yvonne isn't even missing a beat - matching blow for blow with Sakuyamon.

**Izuna!**

Once more, Sakuyamon called forth her fox spirits. Unlike the previous occasion, these came directly from her hands of all places. So the staff isn't needed. This is turning into an even better win-win of a situation if I've ever seen one. Not for Sakuyamon, of course. Especially as those fox spirits of hers swirl around the mega's body. Uh… You alright there?

"No, you fuckwit!" Sakuyamon screamed and attempted to grab her staff back. Close as her hand may've gotten to Yvonne's in that short window of time, her opponent managed to get theirs out of the way in time. Which made the scratches on their armor even more visible. Scratches? Wait. Those weren't there before. Or have I not been paying the best attention? No, this is a case of the former. Speaking of which, how's Crusadermon holding up? Haven't heard anything for a bit from him. Hopefully he's al-

**Urgent Fear!**

Of course now he chooses this as the opportunity to attack. His partner-in-crime is already at the end of the line. So let's shoot off beams of something or other from his shield. Wait. Why doesn't he have a sword or something? That would make sense considering his getup.

**You would think that, but reality is *cackle* harsh that way.**

Thanks for the reminder, DM. I'll keep that in mind. Especially as Yvonne jumped backwards to dodge at least one of the lasers and tank the rest. Though, this does provide a good opportunity to look over that stab wound on our knight. Right in the middle of the stomach, it looks repairable. Nothing like the 'shattering' that Rantha mentioned earlier. Doesn't explain why a bunch of 'fluff' now sits on the floor. Wait. That stupid plush. Forget the state of the armor, I doubt Marulyn would be happy to find someone skewered her plush. A plush that she entrusted to you to keep safe and eventually give back to her for one reason or another. I do hope you know some method to sew that stuffed animal back together. If not, you might want a good apology of sorts to make up for it.

"Sorta." Yvonne answered, gaze on the ceiling for the briefest of moments. Not long enough for either Sakuyamon or Crusadermon to take advantage of this opportunity and get one more hit in. Though, I doubt the former can really go on for much longer. "I'm willing to let you pass to the lower floors if you let us through."

Sakuyamon rolled her eyes and charged forward. Taking one more stab at grabbing the staff away, it's no better than the last attempt. Especially as she gets flung into a nearby wall and slammed into a set of armor. This time, we have a spectacular crashing of a material that I'm not entirely sure what it is. That's the least of our concerns.

"Maybe a date one of these days?" Rantha called out, Crusadermon looking his way. What looks like a deep breath followed.

"Sure." Crusadermon answered and got a look from his partner as our heroes charged up to the next floor. "So what if I want to have a nice date with a dude? You're not in charge of my life."

Sakuyamon didn't answer, choosing instead to stare towards Yvonne. Next, she was going to get her. The armored mega just knew it.

[Tower at the edge of the world F3]

* * *

Notes:

As things to encounter in a dungeon go, a Sakuyamon might seem a bit out of place. And it kind of is. But at the same time, not - mostly by way of the early systems (1e and 3.5) having a fascination with the 'Oriental'.

Starting with the original Oriental Adventures all the way back in 1985, bringing with it non-weapon profiencies (basically Skills) and the setting of Kara-Tur. Which took cues from Korea, Japan and China among other Asian Cultures. Getting a total of eight adventures across 4 years, it missed out on all of 2e.

While that was all happening, a company by the name of the Alderac Entertainment Group decided to take a crack at an Asian-influenced... CCG in 1995. That CCG? Legends of the Five Rings. This is very important. With it came the setting of Rokugan. Two years later and spinning off a company called Five Ringers Publishing (I'm not joking) for better funding, the first edition of Legend of the Five Rings the RPG came out. Not sure where the 's' at the end of Legend went.

Right around that same time, TSR (the company behind Dungeon & Dragons) was having some financial issues. So the Alderac Entertainment Group negotiated the rights to purchase the company. Which they then passed onto Wizards of the Coast.

Come 2000, Alderac Entertainment Group's licence fpr Legend of the Five Rings the RPG ended. While Wizards of the Coast would give them back the rights to their baby, a new 'competitor' joined the field - Oriental Adventures.

Named after the original from all those years, Oriental Adventures seeked to bring the Asian influences of Kara-Tur to a new generation of fans. While it did win an Ennie Award (an annual fan-based award for roleplaying games and companies), an actual general reception for the sourcebook I was not able to find. Though, that isn't where this story ends.

For the entirety of Legend of the Five Rings the RPG's second edition, there were two different sets of game mechanics. I am not making this up. It was only after Oriental Adventures went out of print did they move to just one system for the RPG's third edition.

Phew. That was quite a lot.

.

Next Time: Bubbles helps complete a wedding and does something unexpected.


	50. Undying Bonds

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Well... that was something. I'm not entirely sure how to describe the feeling within to be done with that mess. I guess… confused works well here. It feels as if this whole place is built around having no cohesive theme and just testing people. Which is an oddly specific thing to do with a dungeon - most are used to guard something or to get rid of people. Sometimes both.

"It's a definite possibility." Rantha muttered and let his gaze shift to the ceiling. Even as these stairs curve around the tower, the ceiling never really changes. Perhaps this is the one constant in this entire place, the one thing that the heroes of back then could count on as they made the treacherous climb up. Or perhaps they were unsure of whether or not they could actually make it through the next floor and would need to stop for the night. "I wouldn't quite go that far

Though out of everyone in the party, you're bound to know the most about this strange place. Does this match up to any accounts given to you - false or otherwise?

"Kinda. Parts of it - the lack of any real encounters, the one-off challenges… But nothing after that." the artisan continued and let out a deep breath, eyes closing. Images of Carinamon bounced about within his head. Feels so long ago that the large murderous bird was once a weird-looking feathered scorpion. It's been just a couple of days. But when you don't have a solid clue on how much of your memories are actually real and which were fabricated by way of a choice made so many years ago.

"Maybe this was one of their first attempts at making a proper dungeon?" Blaze suggested as Balamon slithered down to his left arm. Looked to be a bit more comfortable there. "That could explain why this place seems like it was pulled from somewhere else."

That's one explanation. But this is only the third floor out of eight total. Who knows what else weird stuff awaits. Hopefully not something that wants to kill us.

Stepping up the last couple steps, we find ourselves in a room. Cream-colored walls with wooden accents surround us, the floor looking to be some kind of carpet - even if I'm not entirely certain what color that's supposed to be. Gray yet blue. Beyond the point. A couple chairs are set off to the side, with a door serving as our only other point of inter-

I'm not even allowed to finish my sentence, since the click of a lock cuts off my description of this strange room. Not entirely sure what we did to deserve that. As I was saying, our other point of interest is a plain wooden door. Not sure why someone cut into the bottom section of the door and installed a swing flap. Great and all, if not for the fact that I doubt most of us could actually slip through. Without breaking the door down, of course.

"What about Bubbles?" Phusitmon announced, the little dragon finding himself to be the center of attention. So he straightened out his dress and dusted any dirt that might've gotten on the garment as the result of the previous two floors. Can't really see any trace of either dirt or really water, but that could be the result of the bright light hanging above. Brighter than the sun, kind of annoying at the moment. Sure, those lanterns gave off a lot of light.

"Bubbles, we need you to do us a very big favor." Ella explained, Bubbles standing on his tippy toes to just be on the same level as his mother. Whatever she was going to ask, he would be willing to do it for her and 'Princess'. Well, within reason of course. "Could you go through that flap and see what's on the other side?"

The artificer's words roll out, Bubbles already focusing on that flap. Setting Phusitmon down, he headed over. Taking the time to wave towards his teammates, he got down onto his knees. Giving the flap a slight tap, he found it to open. While this would serve as a good time to give a wave, that sort of gesture doesn't cross his mind.

"Do you think Mr Bubbles we'll be able to do it?" Melody remarked, getting a look from both Ella and Madame for the moment. To be fair, you're putting a lot of trust in that little guy. Especially when we all have not a single clue on what to expect within.

"We'll just have to hope that whatever is waiting for him on the other side doesn't want to eat or kill him." Rantha announced and got the whack of a whip in return. You might have wanted to phrase that a hell of a lot better than you just did, dude.

.

On the other side of the flap, Bubbles found himself in the main room of this particular floor. Well I assume this to be the main room. After all, why else would we find all these people frozen in time. Of note was the pair at the far side of the room. Posed in front of a large window, the one on the left appears to be decked out in white lace - kind of like an angel. Which made their similarly dressed companion an enigma. Guess they wanted to seal their bond - even if those around them looked ready to cut that dream short with knives and weird sticks. Wait. What are those cone things heading towards them? Sure, everything is frozen for the moment, but it's probably best to not to touch them.

The gray stone walls from the first floor have made their return here. Kind of a shame. I was kind of hoping that the second floor wasn't a fluke. But beggars can't be choosers. Beyond that, we have a bunch of benches lined in rows for people to sit in. Must be quite the place to gather. But that's judging by what few people are still actually sitting for the moment. Good to see that not everyone is an awful person in this room. Guess that means the plastic surgery place wasn't the only building to get picked up when that tower sprouted forth from the ground. Makes the fact that everyone is likely still in the same place they were before getting thrown up in the air all the more surprising. Or perhaps they've moved. Who can really say.

"We good people too." a voice announced, Bubbles trying his best to find the source. Didn't have too look that hard, what looks to be a goblin of all creatures casually walking on over to the pair. Club bouncing about, they look to be taller than Bubbles. Which isn't really saying much in regards to the little dragon. His companion though, was slightly more interesting.

An orc, he looked to be dressed casually for this occasion. Though, I do think slacks and long-sleeved shirts are a bit strange to wear in a place like this. Not that there's really a problem with dressing like that, not sure if this fits with our current surroundings.

"You're just impatient." the orc explained, kneeling down to be on Bubbles' level. Even then, that still meant having to look directly down on the little dragon. Even as the pair was given a curtsy. "By any chance could you help us with something?"

Bubbles looked up and tried his best to nod. Not half shabby, even if that made his holy symbol and D-venture bounce about.

"We in line to have little wedding for quite long time." the goblin continued, what looks to be a ring rolling in his palm. Is that a diamond I see? Has to be. Wonder where that came from. Far shinier than jewel done by a craftsman, there has to be someone missing one currently. Or at the very least, willing to let them borrow this. "We need priest to give vows. Them, then us."

Phusitmon's gaze shot over to the goblin. Yes, Bubbles is the 'cleric' of the party. That in no way makes him suitable as the one reading two people their wedding vows.

"What's in it for us?" Phusitmon inquired and watched the orc point to the staircase. A barricade has been set up, mostly to prevent anyone from coming in and ruining this ceremony.

"We'll let you through and unlock that door." the orc explained and got a look from the plush rabbit digimon in return. To be fair, I'm surprised no one has attempted to just bust the door down. Though, our luck would suggest that not really working here and instead any weapon used upon the door would probably bounce back hardly. Though, you could pick the lock with a knife or something. Always an option, except for the fact that Rantha is the only one with a knife. "How does that sound?"  
Bubbles gave a thumbs-up, following it up with a nod. Uh… You might want to be more careful in the future.

"And these vows?" Phusitmon remarked, our couple-to-be pointing to a person at the far end of the room. Dressed in the garments of a cleric, a weird-looking stick stuck in his mouth. Frozen hands have pulled the trigger back, eyes filled with their entire life flashing by. Whatever strength they had, the good, the bad and everything in between - locked in place for eternity. Maybe check their body? Has to be something in his pockets.

Bubbles nodded and made his way over to the priest. Even up close, there's something creepy about him. Maybe it's the weird stick hanging from his mouth. Or perhaps that he's trying to end his life. Whether or not he actually went through it, he got 'lucky.' Can't really call it that.

Digging down into the pockets, Bubbles tried his hardest to grab hold of anything in this man's pockets. All that came out was a bit of fluff. With gloved hands, that probably felt weird. Though, that also means that you accidentally created a second piece.

"Vow?" the little dragon inquired, going in for another attempt at pulling something out from this man's pockets. The vows had to be in here. Why else would this person go to a better place without stashing them away? That would be silly. "Vow!"

Pulling his hand back out, what looks to be a piece of paper comes flying out. All folded up, what secrets could be held within that paper? Only one real way to find out - unfold it.

Bubbles grabbed hold of the paper and carefully pulled back with the help of Phusitmon. Slowly, the contents of the paper came into view.

_To have and to hold, Till Death do us part_

_*Wait for a second*_

_Face the Groom/Bride_

_Do you take this person as your legal spouse?_

_*Wait for response*_

_Face the other party_

_Repeat what you just said._

_You may now kiss._

_I pronounce you spouse and spouse_

_Proceed to shoot them_

Huh… I'm not sure if those are quite vows. More along the lines of instructions on how to conduct yourself when doing the ceremony. Which I'm fairly certain don't mean to 'shoot' the couple. That probably kills them. Unless… unless… That was the point of these ceremonies. To have one final moment before the world around them comes to a definite end. This couple wasn't fast enough in their execution, those weird cones not quite reaching their target. Kind of feel sorry for them. Still, that means that the ceremony must be finished so the next couple can have their turn. Maybe without the whole 'killing them' thing.

"I don't think the last part is even possible." Phusitmon whispered and knocked the fluff off of Bubbles's dress. After, he got to helping the little dragon fold this paper up in such a way that he wouldn't have much trouble reading from it when the time came. Good idea. But that's assuming that he actually understood anything on that paper.

"Have vows?" the goblin called out, Bubbles already making his way over to him and his friend. Phusitmon was right behind. Of course, he was holding the note for the moment. Doing quite a good job, well within the abilities of a plush rabbit digimon. "Good, you brought vows."

As for the orc, he took the time to bend back down once more. What looks to be a pat on Bubbles's head is the initial reward. Though, can I ask you two a question? If you don't mind, of course. This is to be your big day after all. You probably want everything to be perfect for both of you. I don't believe this was supposed to be part of your day.

"Go on ahead." the orc remarked and I took a deep breath. Uh… just how long have you two been together? We haven't really seen anyone else like you guys in the dungeon. Are they higher up or you're just the only ones in this entire tower.

The goblin stared up toward the ceiling, then down to his hands. That ring is absolutely glistening in what little light is offered in this room. Reacts weirdly with the sky frozen in time.

"Couple Decades. Staring." he muttered, getting a chuckle from his fiancee in return. Am I missing something important here? You didn't answer my question though. "Always out reach. Not now though. Away from them."

The orc looked over to his husband-to-be, mumblings of something followed. Then it's right back to Bubbles, who decided that this was the perfect opportunity to give him a hug. Except the little dragon reached for the leg of all things.

"He was the captain of the goblins." the orc answered and watched Bubbles let go for the moment. Then it's right back to standing by Phusitmon. "His patrols were usually heading for the floors below when I caught a sight of his beautiful face. Usually, he would escape by the skin of his teeth and notice me, some lowly orc grunt. There was no way that he would notice me. At some point, he did though. The next day, I find a little piece of rations with some scribbling. So I left a couple gold in return."

Bubbles' gaze turned to the goblin. While around the same level as him for the moment, that didn't change the fact that he looked too occupied for a hug. Just one wrong movement could spell the end of this happy moment for them. So Bubbles held his affection in for the moment. At least till an opening appeared. Unless…

"Hug?" Bubbles inquired and watched the goblin step towards him, the little dragon being the one hugged. Kind of a weird reversal of roles for the moment. The diamond still hung tightly in hand. "Ring? Finder, maybe?"

The goblin just chuckled and ended the embrace. After, his gaze turned to the ring itself. Carefully, he slid it onto the appropriate finger. Doesn't really work too well, but eventually… the ring does slip through.

"What beloved think?" the goblin continued, finding himself lifted up into the air and getting treated to a kiss.

"You look even better now." the orc answered and gave Bubbles one more head pat. Then, he motioned for the little dragon to head on over to the other couple. Phusitmon was right behind, making sure to pull the paper along with him.

"Ready to do this?" Phusitmon remarked, getting shook up and down by his partner. Taking that as a yes, he carefully handed over the paper. What follows, is the unfolding process. Heck of a lot easier this time around than their work a few minutes ago.

"To have an to hod." Bubbles began, waiting for some kind of response from his subjects. Of course, being frozen in time means they can't really respond in the first place. Though for the briefest of seconds, he swore one of them moved their heads slightly. Very, very slightly. "Till deth do you part."

Except they are supposed to be killed. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of saying 'till death do us part'? Has too in some regard. But for the moment, Bubbles looked towards the first groom.

"Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?" he continued, giving this man frozen in time a chance to respond. I'll take that as a yes for the moment. Then it's over to the other man for the moment. "Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?"

The same response as before. I'm not entirely sure if you should be expecting something different here.

"You may now kis the groom." Bubbles explained, both parties in his vision. But no touching of lips occured. The two men continued to stand like statues, blissfully unaware of anything transpiring. Hmm… There has to be something that you can do. Maybe the thing that happened with the purses will happen here as well?

The little dragon nodded and walked over to the rightmost groom. Grabbing hold of his white pants, he pulled back on the fabric with all of his strength. But instead of receiving a copy of this frozen man, the result was much more bizarre - a pile of dust and goo, twisting about with no real way to move. For the briefest of moments, an eyeball focused on the other man. Droplets streaked across its mass, already focusing on Bubbles and nodding.

"K?" the little dragon answered and turned to the man's partner. While he understood the task at hand, that didn't change the fact how weird this all was. Sure, there were a couple opportunities (Kollmon's former owner, the people in that store) to do this before. Yet, the idea hadn't come to any of them. But in this moment, he understood. Even if these people could be unfrozen, it was likely their state would be either that of a corpse or a blob of skin and whatever parts of the body were still somehow functioning.

Grabbing hold of the other groom's pant leg, he pulled back once more. The result is the same as the first - a blob of what remains of a human body post it getting frozen in time. The worst possible fate such a person could be treated too. Topping even that of the things inflicted to Madame in the pursuits of making them 'perfect'. Quite a long shot, now that I think about it.

Yet, our pair slid by Bubbles and let what remained of each other 'embrace'. Messily and sloppily, they get the job done.

"I pronounce you husband and husband." Bubbles finished, making one more glance to the sheet of paper. Sure, he gave the entire spiel - gestures and all. What part of that was missing from this? "Shut!"

Carefully picking Phusitmon up, the little dragon walked him over to the two blobs. Even if that did get him a major look from his digimon partner.

"Ahem." Phusitmon answered and found the paper shoved into his face. Giving it one more look, he tried his hardest to not catch a glance of the two blobs. "Oh. I understand."

Setting the paper down, now was the time to look at this strange couple.

**Bubble!**

Like the attack says, bubbles shot forth from Phusitmon's mouth. Harmless, they serve perfectly as the final step in this strange ceremony. The pair of blobs actually look quite happy for the moment. If I could actually touch things, I would give both of you a pat on the head.

_Really? They just caused another error in the process of *crackle* solving this 'puzzle'. How exactly can you call that a 'good job'?_

In their defense, DM, this is still a solution to the problem. Yes, I highly doubt this was the intention by whoever created this. Even then, what do you mean by 'error'?

A sigh echoed about our minds. Garbled and slightly hard on the ears, I get the feeling that DM is at the end of their energy.  
_Yoou wewawrent suppspefsed *hiss* tppp puthfjytll thty7ui6tc6uem ohtftj hfhtvut. Thdh ccdhe system *crackle* caaanban naact accounnt fuuur thuat._

Uh… sorry? If nothing else, get some rest, DM. We'll probably do the same once we finish with this floor. Should be good for the moment.

Nonetheless, Bubbles set Phusitmon down and made his way over to our other pair. While it was likely the goblin and his orc husband-to-be noticed the pair of blobs off at the far end of the room, not a peep had exited their mouths during the entire ceremony.

"Are you ready to do this?" the orc inquired, carefully pulling his fiancee back up to be right at his eye level. What appeared to be a nod was the answer given - more than enough to let both their focuses shift to the ring. Pretty thing, the sort most people probably spend a lot of money on to surprise the one person they care about with all their heart. Not that I'm really the sort of person interested. I'm not really interested in men, women or really... 'other'. Just never have been. Beyond the point.

"Yeah." the goblin answered and got set down for the moment. Which was his partner's cue to kneel down to sort of be on his level.

"To have an to hod." Bubbles began, nods serving as the response from both men. Phusitmon shot them a look as he came to a stop beside his partner. "Till deth do you part."

While there wasn't really a response to that, you could chalk it up more to the anticipation of the next part - the weird two-parter. Especially as Bubbles focused on the goblin to start things off.

"Do u take this person as yor legal spouse?" he continued, getting another nod from the goblin - an obvious answer to an obvious question.

"Yes."

With that, our little dragon shifted his attention away from the goblin and to the orc. Opening his mouth, he doesn't really get a chance to speak.

"Yes." the orc answered and pulled his husband in. At least wait until Bubbles says the last thing. Perfectly fine to be excited and all, but you at least need to follow the order of operations. At least a tiny bit.

**Bubble!**

With this change of steps, that left just the matter of just blowing spheres of water onto the couple in question. Not the weirdest thing we had to do today. Hopefully, the last that needs to be accomplished.

"Thank you." the orc answered and pulled a key out. Handing it too Bubbles, the little dragon made a beeline for the door. Just one small problem - the keyhole was quite a bit higher than he could reach for the moment. Uh… didn't quite think this one through. Doesn't stop him from jumping. A good effort, but not enough to really bridge the gap from the ground to the keyhole.

"Fuse!" Bubbles shouted as a blue outline formed around his body. Turning to Phusitmon, he pointed to the keyhole. The message carried through - loud and clear. "Druplet!"

**Bubble!**

Facing in the same direction as the door, the plush rabbit digimon shot a bubble out. The projectile headed right towards the keyhole - floating in place for a couple of moments. Long enough for the little dragon to warp over. Slipping the key in, Bubbles was twisted about. Dress doesn't look any worse for the wear and the door should open. Which brings with it the arrival of the rest of our heroes and our married couples making their exit. Good luck with the crazed woman on the floor below

"Princess!" Bubbles announced, making a beeline for Madame at the moment. In turn, the thief welcomed him back with open arms.

"Good job." Madame whispered, handing what looked to be Bubbles' purse back over. Guess that fell off when he went through the flap. "If nothing else, have dinner. Then you can set up your sleeping bag for the night. Maybe even tell us about what happened."

Bubbles nodded, finding himself handed off to Ella for the moment. Even in the artificer's arms, he got to eating his ration. Once he was let go, then it would be time to set up his sleeping bag and go to bed.

When morning came, he could tell everyone what had happened.

* * *

Notes:

Fiftieth chapter! Whoo! This was actually pretty enjoyable to write. Especially since this is a solo Bubbles chapter. Which I don't believe we've really had since the start of the fic. Dang. That's nearly a year ago (at the time of writing).

.

Next Time: We do some exploring around the third floor.


	51. Stairway Planning

I don’t own digimon.

* * *

Morning comes far quicker than expected. Maybe that’s more the result of the tower than anything else. Everyone seemed to wake up around the same time. I’ll take that win for the moment. Even if you could argue that it isn’t much of one at the moment.

“Bubbles, do you think you could tell us what happened?” Yvonne inquired and got a nod from the little dragon in return. For the moment, our current camp spot is in the main room of the third floor. Of course, our knight has taken the time to keep her weapon at her side. Just in case Sakuyamon decides to just show up to try and take it back. Not that I think she would. Maybe when we’re making our way back down the tower. Even then, shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

“Weding.” Bubbles answered and found himself getting stared down with confused looks. To be fair, that’s probably not the first thing you would expect to be doing in a dungeon. Let alone an actual church of all places. When life gives you lemons, you make something out of them. Maybe some kind of drink. Preferably sweetened, of course.

_ It’s lemonade, you idiot! _

Oh. So that’s what the name of that stuff is supposed to be called. Thanks for clarifying that for me, DM. Always thought it was called sweetened lemon juice. Silly me.

Uh… yeah. No probl- Well, there is one problem at the moment. Your little dragon friend sort of created a ‘problem’ on my end.

Everyone’s gazes shifted to the ceiling. While I have a pretty good idea what they were probably talking about, it couldn’t be that bad. Right?

I’m going to assume that Bubbles was going to at least elude to this, but don’t pull on any dead bodies you find. I’m still not completely sure what those blobs were supposed to be or why that was the result. Is that too much to ask of you people?

“No.” Yvonne remarked, gaze returning to Bubbles. While she doubted the little dragon had malicious intentions yesterday, they still needed to know why he had tried it in the first place. Nonetheless, the knight carefully knelt down to be at Bubbles’ level. “Bubbles, could you tell us what happened?”

Bubbles nodded, gaze shifting away from the ceiling and over to his teammates. What sounds like a deep breath followed.

“Embrace.” the little dragon answered, looking to the spot of yesterday's ceremony. Not a single sign of these strange - almost eldritch blobs of flesh and body parts. Heck, the pair that he accidentally spawned them from stood still. So he made his way back over. Maybe there was something else here that they all missed. Well, he missed in the initial investigation. But as his little feet closed in on this particular frozen pair, both bodies shattered - their remains reduced to a fine dust. Doubt it’s really usable for anything magical or potions. “They gone…”

His teammates shifted their focus over, already heading to join the little dragon in that moment. To be fair, I would be concerned as well if I saw two bodies just disintegrate in front of me.

“So this is what happens to someone…” Kollmon whispered, shuffling the dust about with her claws. Thoughts of ‘her’ echoed about in the mole digimon’s mind. While the door had prevented everyone from really hearing any part of Bubbles’ adventure yesterday, they were in some kind of church. Sure, no memories of ever going into a place like this reson-

Of course, this is the one moment that the memories come back to her. Can’t be any other time - like maybe when she was sleeping. That would always be preferable to when they normally show up. Out of nowhere with little regards to the person. Though, it would be digimon in this case rather than something human.

This time, they were out on the streets. Well, outside of the plastic surgery place to be exact. Sure, Kollmon wasn’t entirely sure why someone had the bright idea of putting a church of all places here. Was there not somewhere better to put it? Especially when the pastor went on about how he was so holy because he had a Seraphimon of all digimon. Even if said ‘Seraphimon’ was just an Angemon dressed up in cheap foam and other cosplay materials. Usually it’s an Angewomon… whose eyes are more on the hottest person in the room or whatever dark force of a digimon that was forced to come to this place of worship to be ‘cleansed’.

“In all seriousness, what exactly is the point of this church place?” Kollmon inquires, getting a chuckle in return. As answers went, this was not quite the one she had expected. Sure, it was possible her partner had no clue why people went into a place like this.

“That depends on what you’re trying to get out of it, I guess.” ‘she’ answers back and gets a look from the mole digimon. “Some people might want to be the company of others - united in the belief that some almighty person exists. Others might want to hear the words of the preacher for guidance in uncertain times.”

The words roll out, colliding right with the words echoing out from the open door of the church for the moment. While Kollmon was able to hear it, that didn’t change the feeling of an incomplete answer. Not that I believe one could ever possibly exist. So the mole digimon turned around and headed back towards the plastic surgery place. If nothing else, maybe the clients in the waiting room would serve better to stave off her boredom. Which was also the point that Kollmon found herself flushed back into reality. Still staring down towards the piles of dust, just one more reminder of her fuckup.

“Kollmon?” a voice called out and Kollmon looked up. There she found Munbimon of all digimon gliding down to meet her. “Something wrong?”

Her words roll out, the mole digimon looking away. Kind of a dumb question now that you’ve said it out loud.

“No!” Kollmon muttered, gaze returning back to the piles of dust. Smashing her claws down, the dust scatters. Not very satisfying, even if one wanted it to be. All it really does is bring back the past memories of ‘her’. If the mole digimon had to relive some from before, could it at least be from before ‘he’ became ‘she’. That would be a nice change of past. But no, it has to be her for the moment. Probably when they actually find that journal of her is the moment it’ll occur. She just knew it. “I keep having these memories return to me! Why does this world feel so insistent on reminding that the old Kollmon was not a good person! Can’t whatever force that governs this world see that I’ve changed to some extent? At least a tiny bit?!”

Silence, everyone’s attention shifting from their consumption of morning rations and over to her. While I doubt this was your intention, Kollmon, this is what you got. A question without a fulfilling answer. Much is the nature of life.

“Maybe this entity doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes you did the last time?” Munbimon suggested and got a look from Kollmon. One possibility, we find ourselves right back at the same problem - we have no way of really knowing if there is truly a finite number of answers or even if the question being asked is the one that the answer goes with. Sure, you’re all supposed to have lost your memories after everything ended. But this along with all the other flashbacks seems to prove otherwise. So did something go wrong or was this done on purpose?

“Probably the latter.” Melody remarked, both Munbimon and Kollmon slowly making their way back on over. Tossing a ration out, Kollmon managed to catch it. Of course, there’s the matter of actually opening it. “If they truly wanted you all to forget, then they would’ve just made you all blank slates.”

Lumosmon flashed a single time - probably in agreement. I think at least. Could be the opposite for the moment, but that’s beyond the point. We need to head onward up this tower and see what else awaits us.

“Understood.” Blaze remarked, slipping his empty ration into his purse for the moment. The rest do something similar, letting it join the tins from the previous two meals. Maybe the next floor will have some kind of trash can or receptacle. Probably asking for too much at the moment.

Nonetheless, we make our way over to the barricade preventing us from going up. It was a bunch of chairs of course. In retrospect, Bubbles probably could’ve easily pushed it out of the way. Oh well. You win some, you lose some. Onward then.

With that now out of the way, we begin our ascent up the stairs and towards the next floor.

[Tower at the edge of the world F4]

Coming up on the halfway mark, kinda. Hopefully the weirder parts of this place are just contained to the lower floors and the rest of this place is a bit more consistent. Probably jinxed it by saying that, didn’t I?

Judging by the looks towards the ceiling at the moment, I’ll take that as a yes. Sorry about that.

“DM, may I ask you a question?” Melody inquired, everyone receiving a sigh in return. That’s a good question though.

That way you know what floor you’re on, along with teaching your little dragon guy how to count. Hopefully. Wait. He does know how to count… right?

Once more, our attention is upon Bubbles. Sure, it’s not very likely that he’s gotten any kind of education (outside of being around you guys). Perhaps he knows?

“Bubbles, could you count to 10 for us?” Yvonne asked, Bubbles looking down towards his gloved claws.

“One, too, thee, for, five…” Bubbles called out, gaze already on his other hand. Taking a second to concentrate, his gaze shifted. “Six, seven, ate, nine, ten!”

For a brief moment, you could hear a pin drop onto the stairs. Okay, this isn’t the most shocking thing to happen for us. I’m kind of impressed he actually knew. Good job, Bubbles.

Bubbles nodded and got up onto his tippy toes. While still being on the stairs. Uh… maybe wait till we’re on the next floor though? Don’t want you to go tum-

Which is exactly what our little dragon did at the moment, falling backwards and heading right for a collision with the next step. If not for Rantha grabbing him. Good work.

“We really need to stop meeting like this.” the artisan muttered, getting a hug from Bubbles in return as he set him back down on the step. “I do hope you understand that I’m only helping because I want to kick Adarnamon in the tail feathers. Once that’s done, all bets are off.”

Bubbles gave him a look. Sure, Rantha was claiming one thing. But he really doubted that the artisan would actually go through it. Especially after he went through the trouble of doing a whole wedding - twice. Had to amount to something, right? If not, they were escorting him up this tower. That’s leverage if I’ve ever seen it.

For the moment at least, Bubbles let Rantha’s remark slip out of his mind. Especially as there were other things to be focusing on at the moment. Things like what the next floor would challenge them with. Though, I think that’s on everyone’s mind right now. Maybe it’ll be some kind of weird dancing competition. Or perhaps something in regards to space. Heck, there’s a possibility that it could be none of those things and instead be another building. Actually, no. The church is probably the last building we’ll see for a bit. Unless for some reason they were secretly running something in the upper parts of the building. Which I don’t see any reason

“Yeah. That would be absurd.” Phusitmon responded, looking towards his partner for the moment. “Though, I guess it wouldn’t be that surprising.”

What do you mean? If this is anything like a regular place of worship, they would just ask for donations. Unless they were a deity of trickery - then you just get robbed on the way in and robbed on the way out. And if you’re really lucky, you’ll listen to a three hour seminar on some land that you’ll believe that you’re the only one to live on it. Only for it to turn out you’re sharing it with a bunch of other people who were suckered in. One of the instructors back at the academy constantly falls for this scam. Which means on the weekends, someone needs to lock him in his room and guard it.

“That sounds kind of awful.” Yvonne remarked, of which I’m going to have to agree with you there. Especially when you find out that you have that duty twice in a row.

“Have you tried not giving him money?” Madame suggested, getting a look from their girlfriend. To answer your question, that would be unlawful and grounds for said professor packing up shop and leaving.

“But locking him or her up in their room, isn’t?” Ella added, the difference being that said ‘room’ is actually a set of dorms and he is able to go about with his teaching duties. It’s just the ‘door’ that we’re guarding is one of the few doors in the Academy that leads to the outside world. Of which this guy has the single key too. Because of course he do- Oh. I’ve gotten into quite a tangent for the moment. Sorry about that. “It’s all right. Gives us a good opportunity to get to know you at least.”

Fair enough. Though, I would think that we would actually be on the fourth floor at this point. Unless it counts stairways as part of the floor for some reason.

“Yeah, that is a strange design decision.” Balamon remarked, loud music echoing down to assault us. Not sure what we did to deserve that. Multi-colored lights shine down, spinning about in what I can only assume to be some kind of ritual pattern.

“Rantha, do you know where that friend of yours got that bunny costume?” Blaze called out, our artisan looking away for the moment. To be fair, he probably hadn’t asked where she got it. On the plus side, that does mean that this part of your memory is actually real and not made up by Adarnamon.

“Yeah. Really helpful for the moment.” Rantha muttered as the fourth floor finally came into view. But that’s judging by the crudely done-up sign that’s just floating at the top of the stairs. Off to the side on the landing, I’m kind of impressed that it’s all spelled correctly. Though, that doesn’t explain the use of a curtain for a door. There’s a perfectly good door a floor down. You could at least use that in place of the flimsy red fabric that I highly doubt provides much protection.

Dungeon Bunny Bar

Now Hiring - Dancer

Wonderful. I take back what I said earlier about there being something in the upper parts of the church. Should’ve kept my big mouth shut.

“Eh. It’s more of a lucky guess.” Madame remarked and let their gaze away from the sign and over to the group. Not counting themself and the digimon for the moment, it was likely that most of them wouldn’t quite pass for regular patrons. Okay, maybe Bubbles. But since he’s a child and all, that definitely was not the best place to bring a child into. Yet, the thief let their attention to their leader. “Yvonne, what’s our plan?”

The knight nodded and took a deep breath. On one hand, they could just send Blaze in first and then follow right behind. Sure, that would at least let the dancer scout the place out and then relay that information back to the group.

The other option was for them to all go in (even Bubbles) and play this by ear. Of course, both plans hinged on Blaze getting dressed up in that bunny girl costume. Sure, the ballet leotard might work in this situation. But it’s unlikely that would quite fit the image of the club.

“Blaze?” Yvonne called out, Blaze already digging into his purse. Out comes that silly outfit, even if the dancer’s expression was less than enthusiastic about all of this. Personally, I wouldn’t be either. Just do your best.

* * *

Notes:

Bit of a shorter chapter after a string of longer ones - an intermission. Especially with the mess that is my life going on all around me.

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Next Time: We dance about with a pole. Not as dirty as it sounds.


	52. Swinging to the beat

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Compared to all the other floors (that we've seen on our trip up), this one in particular stood out. Maybe it's the lights swirling about with whatever arcane technology or the loud music that whoever is running the place. But above all else, we have the people running around serving drinks and 'dancing'. By dancing, I mean making questionable gestures and swinging around a pole. All of which were dressed up in bunny girl outfits - much like the one Blaze had gotten from Rantha. Who in turn, had a friend who had gotten it from here. While none of them have really noticed our large group of people, that wasn't going to last for long. Especially with that flimsy piece of fabric serving as a barrier.

"State your business." a voice announced as a goblin made his way over. Decked out in a suit of all garments, what looks to be a watch hung around his wrist. Mechanical, the second hand rocks back and forth. Though, the hat more than makes up for it.

"We would like to pass to the next floor." Yvonne explained, the strange goblin looking behind himself. Nothing really going on for the moment, but the flap could easily betray that.

"Well, can anyone of you dance?" the goblin answered and Blaze stepped forward. His 'favorite outfit' proudly out and ready to be slipped into at a moment's notice. "Oh. You there. Care to give the pole a shot, pretty boy?"

Blaze nodded, even if the temptation was very much there to just roll his eyes and flip the goblin off. Sure, he would've preferred to be wearing either his regular clothes or his leotard, he could make this work. If not, there was always his scimitar. Though, I think we should maybe stick away from that for the moment. At least till we have some solid clue on what's going on.

"Is he always like that?" the goblin remarked, gaze staying on Blaze for the moment. What sounds like a chuckle followed. Go get them and make Dave proud of you!

"No. Just not my favorite outfit." Blaze countered, taking the time to focus in on the goblin for the moment. "Uh… where's the dressing?"

The goblin stared off into space, the sound of his broken watch serving as the only sound for the moment. You alright there?

"Dressing room?" he answered, finding himself getting stared by multiple people. Uh… that's not a good sign. Like, I would assume that all the other dancers would at least have an alternate outfit to wear when they are not on the job. My mistake.

"If there's no dressing room, then where do the dancers stay till it's there time to come on out?" Ella remarked, our strange goblin continuing to stare off into space. Wonderful. "So where do you expect Blaze to change?"

The goblin looked down the stairs, a hand joining in pointing towards the third floor. Okay, that isn't the most helpful thing in the world. Still, there's more than enough room to get dressed up and get back used to wearing those heels. Especially since you've only worn that pair once.

"I'll be back." Blaze announced and made his way down towards the third floor. Which just leaves everyone else to focus back on the goblin.

"I'm guessing the rest of you would like to head into the bar?" the goblin remarked, pulling the curtain away. With that 'barrier' out of the way, we can really see the inside of this 'bar'. What looks to be more carpet covers the floor, with some kind of dark fabric covering over the original walls. Tables and chairs are littered all about, with the titular 'dancers' serving a variety of goblin and orc patrons. Doesn't explain the dragon at the far end of the room pigging out on a full hog. Crap. That was a pun. Even worse, it's a pun that leads right into a second one (even if that wasn't my intention).

_In all seriousness, why don't you like puns? Seems like kind of a strange pet peeve to have. And that's coming from me._

I guess it's the narration side of me. I don't really get a concrete idea of who all is going to see this. Suppose they do not speak the same language as you and me. A pun that works here, might not work out in their language. It's a fine balance at times.

Back with the description of the room, we of course have the poles. I'm not sure why the fuck there needs to be poles in here. Sure, the bar part of this place needs water and some place to dispose of fluids. Yes. But what the heck are you supposed to do with these ones? Ride up and down? Prop art against th-

People ride around them as a way to entice people into giving them money. It's quite simple. I would think you of all people would have a good idea on that sort of thing. Have you never been to a bar in the past?

Uh… no. This is the first time I've ever been in such an establishment. Even then, I don't think this counts as one. At all.

"Here's your table." the goblin explained and watched our heroes sit themselves down. Though, Yvonne chooses to stay standing up. In between all of that armor and the chairs looking to be more along the lines of something you would give a child rather than a bunch of adults and a kid who all decided that they wanted to bring their weird pets along with them. Except they're not pets. More, partners. Not in the romantic sense. Work-sense. "I'll take your word for it."

With that, our host headed back through the flap. That was… something. Yeah. Let's go with that to describe the weird situation we find ourselves in once more. Or would it be as usual?

_A mix of both here. Though, I have no really clue of the adventures you had in Aldia._

Uh… does one of you want to quickly recap for our strange vo-

_I'm a digital fiend. Well, that's what I'm planning to have as my avatar once I get things all the way stabilized out._

Good to know.

"I guess I can try." Yvonne explained and took a deep breath. Kind of crazy to think about how much has happened in such a short time. "This whole thing began with a meteor coming down on Aldia, the place nearly everyone at this table calls home. Said meteor was 'intentionally' diverted by Melody when it came very close to her, knocking a piece off and causing said rock to shatter further in five pieces."

Which I'm guessing brought those 'D-ventures' and the digimon to each of you. Okay. That doesn't explain how said digimon got into said rock. Better yet, how exactly did they get the digimon in the first place? What few digimon that are still around here are quite a high level.

Their words echo about our heads, the answer to that question still beyond our known knowledge. Kind of frustrating if you ask me.

"As Yvonne was saying…" Ella remarked, gaze split between those at the table and the ceiling above. "We found our piece of the meteorite, brought forth our digimon partners and got to dispatching the grunts who were sent down to claim said meteorite. They weren't too successful on that front. Well, one did find Madame's secret base of operations."

Madame shot their girlfriend a look. Of course they brought that particular event back up. Yet, they chuckle. Yes, that day was by no means their greatest moment - but it did start the process of breaking away from the 'Madame' image. Sooner or later, the truth needed to get out to the public. For nothing else than to end this charade and possibly have some semblance of a life that actually was theirs and not the product of something no longer needed.

"Once we had gotten the grunts dispatched, then came 'The Artisan'." Madame continued, gaze already focusing on Rantha. "Which I must say, not a very threatening alias."

Rantha rolled his eyes, taking a couple seconds to realize it was now his turn to continue this long-winded story.  
"It was my boss's call." he muttered, a deep breath following that. "As they were saying, I showed up and decided that an eating contest was the best way to start my reign of terror out. Though, I probably should've chosen something other than eggs."

_Why an eating contest? There had to be better ways of going about starting one's destruction than eating a bunch of eggs. If you must do that, at least go with something that professionals do - like hot dogs. Uh… You guys do know what a hot dog is, right?_

Silence. To be fair, none of us have really gotten a chance to actually try the various foods that exist in this world. Though, setting a dog on fire sounds kind of barbaric.

"That better not involve eating me." Cinemon muttered and got a nod from both Ella and Rantha at that moment. Then we're right back to staring at Rantha for the moment.

"After the eating contest, I took a day to get my bearings and work off the stomachache gained from eating all those eggs." Rantha continued and let his gaze shift down towards the table. "Then I jumped back into work, destroying a good chunk of Aldia with massive vines."

Yvonne focused on our artisan, giving what looked to be a reluctant nod. Not in agreement, more in confirmation of the deed done.

"Yeah. That was probably the worst of the damage done." she added, shifting her standing position for the moment. Did make the rings of her khakkhara jingle about slightly. "After, Rantha iced a clothing store and proceeded to break his hands on some boards in Madame's manor."

That's one heck of a way to hurt yourself. Did you at least get some kind of comp for that act of stupidity or were you out of luck?

"Out of luck." Rantha muttered as he held his hand up. While the damage done by the boards has been fixed, there looks to be a couple marks from cutting himself the other day. Yeah. That's something else Rantha is fond of doing. "I know. Once this is all said and done, I'll probably find myself a better hobby."

You better. I'm going to hold you to that promise, even if I don't really have a way to do that. Outside of Bubbles. Yeah, Bubbles is definitely going to keep you to that.

"Personally, I would think it would be better to have his grunts hold him accountable." a voice called out as Blaze stepped through the flap. Decked out in his bunny girl costume, he's definitely not happy. Though, you are getting to dance at the moment. So there's a bright side to this. Not much of one, but still something to look forward too. "So where do you want me, boss?"

The goblin from earlier made his way back over to the table, cutting off our story time for the moment. Though, he does at least bring over some menus. Which, about time you did that. Kind of surprised it took you this long. This place's service is absolutely awful.

"Now BunBun, I just need you to dance about the pole." the goblin explained, taking the time to lick his lips. Wonderful. Guess we're hitting all the branches of this mess. Though, I'm kind of tempted to refer to you as 'BunBun'. No, that would be too childish and demeaning. Even if I do have to say you look absolutely nice right now. I know that your goal is to be a dancer in a traveling troupe and all, but maybe see this as an opportunity to try something in that same field.

For a brief moment, Blaze's cheeks went bright pink. Oops. Didn't mean to embarrass you like that. No hard feelings, of course?

"Of course." he muttered, making a beeline for the pole. If you didn't know any better, you probably think this was what he was a natural. I think that's more the result of the steps up.

Though, I can make out his scimitar for the moment. No sign of Balamon though. What does our dancer have in mind here?

Nonetheless, Blaze got to strutting his way around the pole. Both the audience and the other dancers. The latter seems only to exist to serve the pig of a dragon guarding the exit. Maybe that's why no one has asked us what we want to drink or if we want a snack. No wonder the captains booked it out of here the first chance they got. Don't really blame them for doing th-

Before I had a chance to finish that sentence, what looked like a tomato was thrown towards Blaze. While the projectile missed, this is definitely not the sort of confidence booster you want. Quite the opposite. Yet, the dancer picked up what remained of this fruit and chowed on down. Then got right back to dancing. Swinging about the pole, his form is actually pretty good. If anything, his scimitar looks to be the one thing holding him back. Sure, it's handy to have in a fight. But when it comes to actual dancing, it's heavy and not the easiest thing to conceal under a costume. If at all, in the case of both the bunny girl outfit and the leotard. Though, that is something for our dancer to figure out some other time.

"Infuse!" he announced, a red outline forming around his body as he did a full twirl around the pole. Quite pretty up against the red fabric of his bunny girl outfit. Still no sign of Balamon. Where the heck could that fire snake digimon be? "Ember!"

Blaze's scimitar fell down to the floor and pierced through the carpet. Yet, the dancer let his feet carefully balance on top of the hilt. Uh.. are you trying to break your weapon right now? Kind of what it looks like from here.

The dancer remained silent, heat from the blade traveling up his body and into the pole. Swinging around the pole, flames dance about the pole and scimitar in intricate patterns. Though, I don't think that the other dancers are quite as appreciative of said show. Especially with the way that dragon is looking towards him rather than them. Quite an accomplishment.

"Mr Blaze is quite a natural." Melody remarked, gaze shifting away from Blaze and over to the rest of our heroes. "I wonder how well he would do on a teaship?"

Teaship? As in a ship that flies through the sky that's involved in some way or another or something else entirely? I'm still getting used to the idea of spaceships as a whole. Let alone a ship with a defined purpose. Well, beyond moving people about to a destination.

The mystic nodded, only to follow it up with a head shake. Uh… I'm getting mixed signals and I don't think that was your intention.

"Think of a tea house, but it's a ship." Melody continued, looking up towards the ceiling. "There, the drow dress up all fancy in their kimonos with elaborate hairstyles and serve patrons tea. Silent bunch, but they do a more traditional dance passed down through generations."

Huh… Do you think someone like Blaze would be welcomed in a place like that? Sure, it's one thing to be a dancer, but to be working on a ship flying through space far away from home? That's quite a change of occupation. I get that you were throwing that out as a suggestion, but maybe run that by Blaze first?

The mystic nodded, our attention returning to Blaze at the moment. Currently, he was just showing off - juggling little flames from his hands while twirling about the pole. Guess there is some level of control to the infusion elements. Though, that's overlooking that flirty bottom shake he does every couple twirls, drawing a couple orcs and goblins in on top of providing quite a number of 'dollars' on the floor. Screw that Numemon from the other day. We can use that to pay him back for all this stuff. Then stash whatever is left somewhere safe to be picked back up when we're back in the digital world. Not sure where exactly.

That dragon doesn't look too happy about this free show. I would probably be as well if my dancers were getting beaten by some random person who showed up out of nowhere. Fair enough. I probably would be mad as well.

"Spotlight stealer!" the dragon announced, getting up for the moment. A couple dancers got out of the way, but a few were sadly crushed. Of course, it was all the people who looked to be actually serving the customers. Isn't saying much about the state of this place. Definitely aren't making a profit. Let alone staying in business any longer after this fiasco. "I get that you wish to make a good first impression, but you're showing off and stealing the spotlight from the other dancers."

Blaze slowed his spin around the pole, eventually coming to a gentle stop. Pulling his scimitar out from the floor with a slight twinge of pain, Balamon scurried off of the blade and onto his partner's arm. So that's where he was hiding. Good to know.

"All I was told to do was dance around the pole." Blaze remarked, trying his best to keep his attention on the dragon - don't want to make them any more angry than they already are at the moment. "You should've been more specific. If you want to keep a low profile, tell us to keep it to a low profile. If we don't have a clue what you want, then we can't give you what you want. Is that clear to you?"

The dragon looked away, only to find the rest of our heroes already at the exit. Man, that worked out in our favor. Except for the part where we accidentally leave Blaze behind. Oops?

"It's alright." Blaze remarked and focused back on the dragon. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his purse. Then it was a matter of making sure that his scimitar was securely fashioned to his side - at least till he could get somewhere to change.

"Aren't you going to continue dancing?" the goblin remarked, one of his cronies already making their way over to the poles. About time someone else gave it a shot. At least maybe not on the same pole that Blaze used. Looks to be steaming slightly.

"Dance. Yes." Blaze answered, already heading for the staircase. Which in turn, brought the dragon's focus over to the rest of the party and in turn - Bubbles. Fuck. So much for passing through effortlessly without trouble. "But not for you. Sorry about"

With that, the dancer booked it towards the exit. Guess changing back to regular clothes can wait till we're at least a floor up or part of the way.

"Get back here, this instant!" the dragon screeched, slamming their tail against the floor. Uh… please don't break the floor. This tower is already dangerous enough without you tearing a massive hole through your club and into the church down below.

"We'll come back once we're done with our business." Blaze added as he joined his teammates at the stairway up. Staring back towards the dragon, he found himself on the receiving end of a glare. Eh. I guess there's worse things to be treated too as you head up the stairs.

[Tower at the edge of the world F5]

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Notes:

So this is going to be the last chapter for a bit. That way, I can work on something special for Digital Adventures Online. Don't worry. The next chapter has already been written up.

Outside of that, this was a pretty fun chapter to write. Mostly because I got to make use of the bunny girl costume again.

.

Next Time: We do some cleaning. It makes sense, I promise.


	53. Burn Notice

I don't own digimon.

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As it turns out, halfway up a flight of stairs is just enough space to put one at ease from a dragon. Kind of expected it to be further. A welcome surprise.

"Bubbles, could you do something for me?" Blaze whispered, taking a seat on one of the steps. There, he pulled off his bunny ear headband and slipped it into his purse. Which provided more than enough time for our little dragon to make his way back down to Blaze.

"Yes?" bubbles remarked as Blaze showed him the palms of his hands. Uh… I'm not a doctor, but I don't think the palms of your hands are supposed to be looking like that - all black and 'ghosty'. "Uh…"

_Those are fourth degree burns, you buffoon! What the hell were you thinking, swinging about the pole and burning yourself?_

Blaze looked away, muttering something to himself. So it wasn't a case of you controlling your infusion element but more you dancing through the pain?

"Pretty much." he remarked, Bubbles carefully setting his claws on the dancer's left hand. Healing energy coursed through, Blaze trying his hardest to not pull away, the realization of the damage done finally hitting him. I'm going to assume that these 'third-degree' burns are really, really bad?

_Yeah. He'll need to refrain from using his hands for a while. At least till you're all certain that his hands are actually usable. Which means no using that scimitar of yours and try to refrain from grabbing anything. Also, you're going to need someone else to help you undress._

Uh… One small problem. Bubbles is the only other male in the party. Outside of myself and some of the digimon.

Oh. Wait. How the hell are there only two men on this party of six? That's absolutely absurd! There's no way you're really telling the truth.

"Hey. I'm here as well." Rantha muttered, making his way over to Blaze. "Where are your clothes?"

Blaze pointed to his purse, watching Rantha pull it off. All while Bubbles continues to heal the dancer's hands. Wait. Does this technically count as a threesome?

"No." Madame muttered and took a deep breath. For the moment, Kollmon had chosen to head up ahead a couple steps with Yvonne and Ella. Maybe the mole digimon had something she wanted to ask either Cinemon or Kollmon. Not that Madame had any real issue. No, they were using this time to switch over, at least for a floor or two. "And before you ask, it's still no."

I wasn't even going to ask that. Not worth the trouble. Especially since you would probably be in agreement with your other part. How are you feeling at least?

"Alright." Madame continued, not even taking the time to look back towards Blaze and the mess he accidentally created. "His dancing was good at least. Not sure if Dave would really let him go as far as outer space. "Doubt it. This is pretty far for most people."

Blaze's gaze shot over.

"You do have a point." the dancer remarked, heels finally off and regular shoes slipped back on. I can only imagine those heels were hell "Though, what's this about me going to outer space?"

Madame's gaze shot over to Melody. Currently, the mystic was waiting patiently further up the steps. Not quite as far up as say, Yvonne, but more of a middle ground.

"Back with my fleet, we have something called 'tea ships'." Melody explained, making her way back down the stairs. "The drow who live there have amazing hairdos, sing and serve tea to patrons to visit. You seem like a shoe-in, it would just mean you be in space for at least a couple years. Once you're certified by the leader, then you could come back to Aldia and set up a tea ship of your own. Or would that be a tea house?"

Blaze looked away. After his endeavor with pole dancing, what had seemed like two equally valid futures had changed into something else. A bunch of possibilities, all of which having their own merits and drawbacks. Makes it hard to decide, doesn't it? But you don't need too for the moment. You'll know the time to choose when it inevitably comes.

"Understood." Blaze remarked, lifting his arms up and Rantha slipping a regular shirt on. Which meant throwing that part of the bunny girl outfit in the purse. "How are you holding up, Rantha?"

The artisan looked away, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments. The stairway disappears and he's right back in his shop. There, he's standing behind the counter. The junk is gone… but everything is quiet. It's as if life has faded from this town. When was the last time that a group of adventurers actually stopped on by to get supplies or even flirt with him. Sure, the latter was less than ideal. But there was something nice about having someone interact with and show a romantic interest in you.

But all that would swiftly change with the opening of the door. Not by a person, mind you. No, a large wing was the source of this strange occurrence. Though, it's really not clear how exactly such a creature got it open. Not that it matters for the artisan. This was a chance to strike up a conversation. A chance of a story or even small talk. It's at least something to pass the time in what feels like a miserable existence. Or perhaps this was something else entirely, a reversal of fortunes perhaps. Some good luck after this endless string of bad.

"Why hello there, Rantha." the bird announced, poking his head into the store. While care was taken not to destroy anything of value, there were a couple moments that were too close for comfort in regards to the shelves of potions and sharp, pointy weapons. It's all well and good to have someone to talk about, but it's another for that person (well, bird in this case) to die because they got too close to your wares. "I'm here to cure you."

The words roll out, Rantha unable to believe what he had just heard. There was no way that he was sick. The last time the local clerics had rolled into town they had given him a clean bill of health. There was no way that this bird could be correct. But what if he somehow was sick? This kind, friendly bird was offering to cure him. For free no less. What a steal.

"Uh large bird… what have I come down with?" Rantha inquired, getting what sounds like a chuckle from the bird. That's rarely good. I'm very much aware you can't hear me at the moment. But don't take it. This isn't worth it!

My words fall on deaf ears. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting here. Him to actually respond? No, just wishful thinking on my part in the hopes of something changing.

"Why, your memories of course." the bird explained and watched Rantha step towards him. "You can call me Adarnamon. I'm your partner. We'll create a future without e-"

That last word doesn't get a chance to finish, reality flushing our artisan back to the stairs. Blaze was mostly dressed by this point. Though that might just be the result of him going on with this task without realizing he was still going through with it.

"Great, up until a minute ago." the artisan muttered and took a deep breath. It was only a matter of time before Adarnamon showed up once more. He was going to need to take on this problem. But after that, then what? Just go back to Polias and tell him that he messed this up? No, that was a good way to get yourself killed. Hiding out in Aldia wasn't that good of an idea either. That would just make him a massive target for the townsfolk and his employers. Not even a plea for sympathy would help here. "Once we find that stupid bird, I'm going to pay him a piece of my mind."

_Don't blame you for wanting to do that. Even if I do hope you meant that in the figurative and not in the… literal sense._

Rantha looked at the ceiling, a chuckle following. Returning back to Blaze, he shoved the last of the clothes back into the dancer's purse.

"You're all good now." the artisan muttered, focus turning to Bubbles. At the moment, the little dragon was trying his hardest to fix Blaze's hands. But this was something that was well outside of his expertises. Sure, some of the damage had been repaired. But not enough to allow for the dancer to actually use his hands like he could before all of this. "Hey. He should be good for the moment. Maybe take a break."

Healing glow fading, Bubbles let his focus hang to Rantha. While the temptation was there to just continue, some strength needed to be kept on hand for coming battles. At least till they knew for certain what awaits them on this current floor.

"Okay." the little dragon remarked, making his way over to his mommies. Which was where Phusitmon was currently waiting. Carefully picking the plush rabbit digimon up, he set him on his back. After, it's a matter of making sure his partner was hanging on tight. Just in case they needed to head off in a hurry due that dragon.

"Good job." Madame remarked, giving Bubbles a slight head pat. Which made the hug from Ella a nice extra gift. "How are you holding up?"

The artificer shrugged, muttering something about getting left out. To be fair, we probably would still be on the first floor if not for you giving Madame a pep talk - slaying bats with no real way of knowing where we went wrong in that strange endless loop.

"Yes…" Ella muttered, looking away for a brief moment. Sure, she had gotten a chance to shine on the initial floor. But that was more of her just giving Madame a pep talk and listening to them describe a torture scene. But it was Madame that dealt with those bats, not her. After that, it seemed that the rest of the crew had gotten their chance to shine. Which just left her and Melody. This floor was probably for the mys-

Or would've been, if not for the 'lodging' sign hanging casually at the top of the landing. Made from red tubing with a strange flicker effect, what looks to be a second sign hung under it. No vacancy. Wait. That would make this an Inn. Ella, you got your wish. Though, I'm not sure what exactly awaits on this floor. Outside of the whole 'place you stay in while traveling'. This is probably where all the monsters of this dungeon sleep or perhaps this is their living qua-

At least wait till I'm done thinking over the possibilities of this floor's use. Maybe play along, suggesting some other option for this place. If at all.

"He does have a point, Ella." Madame added, Cinemon running after his partner. Even as Ella stopped at the landing.

"It's definitely an Inn or something similar." the artificer explained, putting a hand on the sign. Cool to a touch, it's not like anything I've ever seen. Do they have stuff like this back where your folks live?

Ella shook her head, carefully pulling her hand back. No burn or anything - so definitely not something fire-related or based in magic.

_Uh… Those are LEDs. They are meant to mimic lights without using as much energy with electricity. It's nothing compared to stuff like holographic doors._

"Holographic doors?" Ella remarked, gaze turning to the ceiling for the moment. While she followed that explanation (outside of not really knowing what 'holographic' meant), the artificer wasn't entirely sure how helpful that was. Surely regular doors worked in most situations. Especially when it came to privacy, right?

Yes, think of it as a solid, customizable 'illusion' that's shaped like a rectangle or other compatible shape through the bending of light.

"That's quite impressive." the artificer continued, gaze shifting to the rest of the party at the moment. Everyone was now gathered here. I don't think you really need to ask the question. The answer is pretty obvious here.

Heading through, we find ourselves in this 'lodging'. Well, that's probably stretching the term for the moment. The whole 'floor' looked to consist of just three rooms (not counting the landing of course). The first room looked to be the main reception area. Decorated with a paper covering that I doubt actually fits with the odd carpet on the floor. I can't really describe the color, but it looks like something designed to hide dirt but was failing miserably at that job. If anything, it was making the dirt even more apparent for everyone in the room. Towards the far right side of the room was what I assume is the check-in desk. But no one is currently sitting there to run said position. So no one can actually get a room?

"Yes." Ella answered and made a beeline for the desk. Pulling herself over the top of the desk, her trenchcoat got stuck on the corner. For the moment, our artificer let it just hang there. Instead, she just focused on the contents of this desk. A perfect opportunity for Madame to walk over and pick said trenchcoat up.

"Personally, I think you look better without this." Madame explained and got a look from their girlfriend. "That, and it makes you look like a kid."

Ella shot the thief a look. While sure, they did have a point. That trenchcoat doesn't quite send the right message to the people coming to stay at your inn. Travelers want to feel welcomed, not threatened when they head inside. But this was a big part of her identity. Much like that stupid wig Madame forced upon themself. Kind of the pot calling the kettle black.

_That thing also makes you look like some edgelord dwarven grandma. And no one wants an edgelord dwarven grandma._

Uh… What DM said. Even if I wouldn't go personally as far to describe you as that. I would go with… a skilled innkeeper with a penchant for tinkering.

"Fine…" Ella muttered, watching her girlfriend throw the trenchcoat off into a corner. After, Kollmon made her way over to the garment and tore it up. Something kind of satisfying watching her do that. Maybe it's all the pent-up aggression from the flashbacks and everything else going on currently. Don't blame her for feeling that way. "I did find something though."

Raising her hand up, what looks to be a set of keys hangs there. Doubt there's one for whatever is preventing us from moving onto the next floor. It's never that easy. Anything else of note?

Ella shook her head, taking the time to pull herself up onto the desk. Then it's just a matter of jumping back down. Minus her cloak this time. A worthy sacrifice for the gaining of this valuable piece of equipment. Wait. This is the perfect opportunity to actually look at Ella's proper appearance. You would think I would've done this back at the Black Cat Inn, but that was just the trenchcoat. Oops?

For this excursion, Ella had chosen to dress in just a plain t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Or would those be considered pants by dwarvish standards? Eh… Doesn't matter. Pretty simple look. Especially with that suitcase/briefcase sitting on the floor for the moment. Don't forget about that. Don't want a repeat of what happened with Yvonne's warhammer.

"I believe you're getting a suit the moment we get back." Ella added, gaze already on Madame. Even if that did get our artificer a look in return. A promise is a promise, you two.

But for now, our attention returned to the rest of this strange room. No attempt had been made to actually furnish this particular part of the floor, just a single wooden chair to wait in. Looks ready to splinter apart if you actually put weight on it. So maybe… don't. Though, there is a doorway at the far side of the room. Making our way over, we find a door. Not sure what you were expecting. Even went through the trouble of finding the biggest lock in this entire dungeon and bolting it onto the doorknob, which was actually pretty small now that I look at it.

"Here we go." Ella remarked, slipping a key in and giving it a slight twist. The lock fell to the ground, the door opening up right after. Uh… that's not normal. Unless they planned for someone to actually find the keys and unlock this very lock to get into this room. Which at this point, wouldn't surprise me.

Inside, the whole place looked like a pig sty. Bed sheets have been thrown all about, with the pillows all shoved in the strangest of places. Like seriously, how the heck did someone get one all the way on the ceiling. Let alone make it stick up there.

"Probably stuck it there on purpose." Cinemon remarked, watching Ella bring her turret in and jump on it. Taking the time to leap up, her hands grab hold of the pillow with ease. Bravo. Now, it's quite a trick to get back on down. Probably should've thought that thro-

Before I could finish speaking, Madame used their whip to get the artificer down. And by whip, I mean going with a swing of said weapon to bring their girlfriend back on down. You could at least help catch her. That's the romantic thing to do at this moment. But no, you let her fall harmlessly to the ground.

"At least help me with making the beds." Ella countered, dusting herself off. Nothing looks to be broken. Just don't try that again, at least without a safety net of some kind. "Understood."

In regards to the rest of the room, there were just… beds. No signs of any places to store stuff. Because you know, that makes total sense for some lodging. Unless they expect people to just put their belongings under the bed.

"Maybe no one who stays here actually has belongings?" Yvonne suggested, Munbimon taking the time to jump from her partner's shoulder to glide under the beds. That didn't last long, the ghost monkey digimon already making a beeline for the knight right after.

"Nothing." Munbimon announced, scurrying her way back up to her partner's shoulder. So much for that option. Especially with those bare walls. I would think you would get something hung up there. Break up all the gray with a splash of some color. Anything would've worked here, but no. That's just too hard of a concept for the denizens of this dungeon to understand. Doesn't stop Ella from gathering up the pillows and putting the sheets back onto the beds. Not the most interesting thing in the world, it does bring the whole room together. Always a plus. Though, that does mean we-

"There's still the bathroom." the artificer continued, heading towards the southern end of the room. There we find a door. This one has also been left plain,with only 'bathroom facilities' to distinguish itself from all the other doors on this floor. Kind of unnecessary with the extreme lack of doors in this place. This time, the lock was in the doorknob itself. You know what, it doesn't really matter why it's the case. Or why the other door has an entirely different locking mechanism. "You alright?"

Yeah. Just confused by what the point of this floor. If such a point actually exists. Probably just the place that peo-

Ella opened the door up, revealing the outside of the tower. Okay… That's definitely not up to code. Thankfully, Cinemon was there to make sure the artificer doesn't fall to her death. Definitely don't want that to happen.

"I would definitely sue the owner for that." Cinemon muttered as Ella closed the door. After, she pushed one of the beds over. Good thinking? Still not sure if that would actually stop someone from heading through and falling too their death. Gives a chance for their friends to pull them back in. "Is that the last thing you need to do?"  
Ella nodded, already making her way towards the door out. Once through, it was just a matter of jumping back onto the desk and putting the keys away. Doesn't explain the staircase getting revealed.

"Huh…" Bubbles whispered, watching his mother scramble back over the desk. I would say this isn't fair, but I get the feeling there was meant to be more here. Like the person in charge here was caught up in the mess at the club and was now too occupied to do anything about it. Oh well. Let's get going.

With that, we head for the next floor.

[Tower at the edge of the world F6]

* * *

Notes:

And so I've returned after what I had been working on falling apart for a not very eventful chapter. Oh well. Sometimes this is how stuff works out. Outside of that, next chapter will probably be a bit shorter and I'm heading back to work at the time this comes out. So chapters might take a bit longer to come out.

.

Next Time: As it turns out, puzzles are sometimes hard.


	54. Puzzled

I don't own digimon.

* * *

Taking the stairs up two at a time, we find ourselves nearing the top of this tower. If the piece of land that's jutting out counts as a floor, that means that Adarnamon is waiting up above… while we're down a member. Wonderful. Just wonderful. Because that's how it's going to be for today.

Blaze's gaze shot up to the ceiling. Sorry about that. I need to get that out of my system before we reach Adarnamon.

"Good to know." Blaze remarked and looked down towards his hands. Even with the healing done by Bubbles, the damage is quite visible. A perfect storm of an awkward situation, far from ideal healing and of course… far away from home. This is probably going to sound counter-intuitive and goes about everything that's happened with you guys, but maybe you should ditch the scimitar and stick to say… unarmed? I'm very much aware you're not quite a fist fighter, but that is a perfect chance to change things up.

The dancer's gaze shot up to the ceiling. To be fair, I don't believe what I'm about to tell you. Mostly because it flies in the face of the advice of everything I've said on the topic (heard or otherwise). As a dancer, you want to take as light of a load as possible into battle. Especially if your dancing also requires you to dodge attacks. The last thing you want is something heavy to slow your movement or make you unbalanced. Heck, your infusion power doesn't even need a weapon to begin with - just give the bad guys a couple kicks or even bang your elbow into them.

Looking away from the ceiling and down towards his scimitar, Blaze took a deep breath. I'm going to assume that this was the weapon your parents used or some other kind of sentimental value? Or is there something else at play here that you've not made me aware of?

"Not really." Blaze answered and carefully poked at the blade with his fingers. Trying his best to not actually grab the blade, he pushed the scimitar out. Dropping down the with a *thud*, the scimitar sits peacefully on the stairs.

This feels so wrong, especially after making the mental notes for you guys to not forget your weapons. Here though, it's something different. More of a refocusing? Yeah, let's call it that.

If nothing else, you can just give Rantha the scimitar. That way he has something better to defend himself with that isn't that stupid knife.

Gazes on the ceiling, I feel kind of dumb for not thinking of that in the first place. That's a far better solution to this problem. Would that work for you, Rantha?

Rantha shrugged, making his way over to the discarded weapon. Picking it up, the artisan takes a couple light swings. Then a couple more swings. Finally, he did a couple swings while throwing up an empty vial into the air. Okay, you're just showing off at this point. Yes, that trick is quite impressive (even if you weren't on a stair at the moment), but we need to continue on at the moment. Especially if we're going to deal with Adarnamon and find that diary.

"It'll work." Rantha muttered, shooting the ceiling just one more look. I'll just ignore that for the moment. "Thanks, Blaze."

The dancer nodded, shifting the position of his purse to the other side of his body. After, it was time to get back to walking. Thankfully, there aren't many more stairs that need to be climbed at this point.

For this floor, what looks to be an astrological theme has been chosen. The walls had been painted a shade of black to mimic that of the sky, with white dots littering the ceiling. Brass instrumentation sits idle, no switch or mechanism as far as one can tell to activate their function. Which is on top of the lack of windows. Someone really wants to showcase their particular view of the night's sky. Or a version of it at least.

Finally, we have the staircase. Which is of course blocked off. In this particular case, a slightly transparent panel decorated in more of those dots. A note looks to be placed down there. Could one of you maybe pick that up for me?

Melody walked over, picking the note up. Giving the piece of paper a quick look, it's right back to the rest of the party.

**Have the courage to freeze the stars, for then the door to the heart shall open**

"This is kind of on the nose." Ella remarked, passing the note onto Bubbles. For the moment, it was Phusitmon who was reading it over. Though, our little dragon is trying his hardest to find some meaning within all of that. Though it looks to have gone over his head. Fair enough. I doubt it's something simple like 'walk in a straight line' or 'wait patiently'. That would be silly and almost counter-intuitive to everything else we've done with this place. Yet, the paper passed over to Yvonne at the moment.

"Yeah." the knight remarked, Munbimon jumping from her shoulder to do a quick aerial examination. Swooping about, we can see the various brass instruments on full display - a large globe based on this world, what looks to be a couple rings spinning about and what looks to be a large collection of gears on a circle. Looks quite warm. Probably the end point. Just means we need to find the point where it starts. Then we can do the puzzle, open the panel and head on through to the top floor. Simple as that. "Kind of weird that this is the place to put such a thing."

What do you mean?

Handing the note off to Blaze, Yvonne's gaze shifted back to the ceiling. Which provided the perfect opportunity for Munbimon to land back on her shoulder.

"Wouldn't it make more sense to have something guarding this floor over a puzzle?" the knight continued, a question that I would agree with. And maybe there was some sort of grand beast guarding this place from intruders. But considering that the natural monster for such a job - a dragon, was downstairs running a bar of all things with dancers decked out in bunny girl outfits, I can understand why they went with something else entirely. Or perhaps the system running this place had a back-up plan. Who can really say. Sorry if that's not quite the answer you were expecting to come out of me.

Yet, I seem to get a nod. A deep breath following from our knight. Then it's right back to looking at Melody. Fair enough. If nothing else, this is a good time to get ready. Make sure you have everything how you want before we head up those stairs.

"Still… What happens once we dispatch my partner? Will the tower just disappear? Will the walls that lock us in go away?" Rantha remarked, Blaze handing him the paper for the moment. I think that's more of a question for DM rather than me. You do have an answer to that… hopefully? It's very much okay if you don't.

_I'm actually not too sure on that front. Yes, it's likely that you'll be able to leave this place. But outside of that, I have no real clue. This is all one big long learning process. One that I don't doubt is going to end anytime soon. Though, I doubt this will be the last time we'll be paired up again. Hopefully in a place that isn't Malibu. Perhaps you'll get to be on my doorstep for once, That would be a nice change of pace._

"Where?" Bubbles remarked, gaze looking up to the dots. Good point. It's all well and good that we can go wherever we want. But if we don't know where you reside currently, it makes for quite a challenge of actually trying to find you and trade notes.  
_Oh right. I'm currently located in Hagukumi City, Japan. More specifically, I'm in a building that the former CEO decided needed to be in the ocean of all places. Which is quite possibly the single dumbest thing he could do. Well, outside of making the chief counselor an obviously insane person. But that's beyond the point._

"We'll keep that in mind." Madame remarked as Rantha handed the slip over to them. Giving it a quick look and handing it back to Melody, their attention shifted over to Kollmon. "Are you going to be alright?"

Kollmon took a deep breath, gaze down on her claws. On one hand, just the idea of finally getting to know their former partner's name was quite extraordinary. This was a major reason for even coming all this way to the tower in the first place. Sure, it had brought about a couple nasty memories. There was still a chance of getting to live through a happy memory. Those had to exist in the mole digimon's mind, right?

By that same token, this also meant having to confront - possibly even live through all the other bad and awful things she did to 'her'. No, the kollmon that had existed then. The kollmon that thought it was a-okay to just assume that their actions would have no consequences in the grand scheme of life - hurling insults and not standing with their human for the sake of not quite getting why they were doing the things they had. Of actively trying to get others to hurt their human because they didn't get the choices they were making in regards to their identity. The kollmon… that was afraid of change. But that Kollmon was long gone, left in the past and reborn into a new kollmon - one ready to face this head on.

"Yes." Kollmon answered and focused back on Madame for the moment. "I think I like got all my frustration out for the moment."

Getting a nod in return, our attention returns to Melody. Now that everyone has read through the note, time to get to solving this puzzle.

"Understood." Melody remarked, looking about the room once more. Eventually, her gaze focused on a small pedestal made out of brass. How that managed to evade our initial gaze is beyond me. Not that it matters right now. We now have a good idea where the start and end of this puzzle are. Should be as simple as shooting a mote over the pedestal and watching it fly.

Melody closed her eyes and concentrated, an icy spike forming in front of her. Firing it off towards the pedestal, eyes opening back up as the mote past right over. Doesn't explain why it slowed down a touch. Not exactly sure how helpful that is.

"Maybe it's so that you can do other stuff?" Cinemon suggested, the spike falling to the ground mere inches from the first instrument - a brass globe. Oh. Come on! That's absolutely cruel and devious. We're so close to our goal. At least toss us a bone before the big fight?

_Were you really expecting the second-to-last floor of this place to be 'easy'? There has to be something significant to make up for the lack of a dragon or other large beast._

"Maybe we can move the instruments?" Phusitmon suggested, Ella already making her way over to one of the globes. Giving it a slight push, the instrument moved. So she pushed even more. But that was too much for this globe. At least now it's in the line of the sight of the starting pedestal and not just out of reach by mere inches. Which is a very weird design flaw for your puzzle to have. You would think the people building this would at least notice that. But no. That was asking too much. But I digress.

Once more, Melody concentrated. The air around her chilled, another icy spike forming. Firing this one off, we got a much better result - our projectile actually reaching the first globe. Didn't get much farther than that. There's no sign of any instrument where it lands. Maybe there's something else that's needed for here - something that's related to the slow speed of the projectile after it passes over the pedestal. Melody, just how sturdy is the mote when you create it?

Melody walked over to one of the fallen spikes and picked the projectile up. Giving it a slight toss, she grabbed it with her opposite hand. Looks to be pretty sturdy.

"Enough to be hit at least once by a weapon." the mystic remarked, gaze turning to Yvonne of all people for the moment. Not even saying a word, Yvonne made her way over to where the second spike had fallen down. "Never thought I would actually have to do something like this."

If you don't mind me asking, do you have an occupation back with this 'fleet' place? I know that you were on a ship before getting swept up into this mess with Distant Harmony and everyone else.

"I was a scout." Melody continued, already getting the next spike ready. Firing it over the pedestal, her eyes open up once more. "My people need to eventually land in order to reconnect - to find our goddess."

Uh… I hate to break it to you, but most deities are at war. The odds of find- Wait. That woman from before. If someone like her exists, there must be other deities. How exactly have they managed to evade getting pulled into such a war? Even the best efforts of some pantheons have resulted in them getting caught up with in-fighting and/or getting found. There must be something that's helping them keep such a low profile. Though, it's a question of where exactly they are and if we can actually get there, explore the place and eventually… return back to Aldia. Though, that's something more to keep in the back of your mind for the future. Right now, our focus needs to be on solving this stupid puzzle and dealing with Adarnamon.

Melody nodded and shot the spike out. Much like the previous two attempts, the spike shot forward towards the first instrument. Bouncing off of that, it's onto Yvonne. Who is currently being very careful with her khakkhara. You know. Don't want to break it after getting the dang thing the day before. That's beyond the point, the staff making contact with the spike and headed for the next instrument. Colliding with it, the spike heads for the large panel. Connecting, the dots upon it glow… but the panel does not slide away. That should've been the last part to solve this thing. What part of this are we still missing? We directed that spike into the wa- The ceiling! Maybe all those dots need to be lit up - even those on the ceiling for some reason. Maybe then the panel will open up and we can head on through.

Our heroes gaze shot up to the ceiling. Compared to the panel, the dots up here remained unlit. Hopefully this is the last thing we need to do to head on to our final challenge. So carefully, Melody concentrated one more time, another ice spike forming in front of her. Launching this one straight up, the projectile makes contact with the ceiling. The dots light up, groaning echoing out from the far end of the room.

"That did it." Rantha muttered, everyone's gaze on him. To be fair. This is the last chance you have to prepare. Anything that needs to be done now for the sake of securing victory you might want to do right now. Of course, having a meal would probably help as well.

The next couple minutes were quite peaceful, just the consumption of rations. Of course, Blaze needed a little help in eating. Kind of hard to even open the ration tin when you can't use your hands in the first place. Somehow, the dancer managed to pull it open. Which just made it a matter of slurping it up… without actually picking the container up and stuff.

"Would you like some help?" Rantha inquired and got a nod in return from Blaze. Grabbing the tin, he carefully poured the contents into the dancer's mouth. Definitely not the way he was expecting to get that meal.

"Sorry about this." Blaze whispered, getting a chuckle from the artisan in return. Setting the ration down, Rantha let out a deep breath.

"You didn't know." he muttered and looked down toward the scimitar at his side. I would say you're both even at this point. Okay… You're probably not, but that's beyond the point. That can be decided once we're all back in Aldia. Might even get a short break… hopefully. Don't quote me on that. The future is quite an unpredictable thing at all times. "I'll take your word for it."

Collecting all their ration tins together and putting them into one of the brass globes, we head up the stairs.

[Tower at the edge of the world F7]

Okay, calling this an actual flight of stairs would be disgracing all the other flights we've climbed in these past two days. Yet, we come upon a makeshift throne room of sorts. High above, a large chunk of land hangs over our head with a bunch of piping coming straight out of it. Glass surrounds us on all sides, making the staircase that snakes around all the more clearer in this moment. Cyan carpet decorated with a pretty pattern around the edges served as our floor, if you can see it under all the rubble from the ceiling. Oh dear.

Of course, the titular Adarnamon standing at the far end of the room. Doesn't exactly look happy to see us. I probably wouldn't be either. But that's just me.

"I've been expecting you." Adarnamon greeted and let his focus shift to Rantha. What sounds like a chuckle follows that statement. "Let's finish this, once and for all."

* * *

Notes:

Oh my.

So it turns out writing puzzles is hard and stuff. Who would've thought that. If it helps, the next chapter is longer. A lot longer.

.

Next Time: Keep me in your memories, leave out all the rest.


	55. Chapter 55

I don't own digimon.

* * *

For Adarnamon, this was it. After what was perhaps an eternity of lying to himself and his partner along with waiting at the top of this towers, things had finally come to a head - a definite ending to this me-

"They get it." the large bird digimon announced and focused fully on Rantha. More specifically, Rantha's new scimitar more than any other part of the artisan at the moment. Is that a hint of envy we got there? Probably not, but there's a small chance it's something along those lines. "Oh my. Looks like someone had finally given up using that dinky little knife for a proper weapon. I told you no one would actually take you seriously with that thing."

Rantha rolled his eyes, grip tightening on the weapon. Of course Adarnamon would start off with him for his taunting. But, he would have to choose his words carefully and deliberately. A single misphrased remark or taunt could bring the same curse from before. Definitely don't want to lose everything once more. Especially after everything you just went through.

"Do I look like I really care about that, Adarnamon?" the artisan countered and focused on his partner. Pulling the scimitar back, he charged straight towards the giant bird digimon. I would get on your case for not listening to what I had just said, but someone needs to be the first person to strike him. Doesn't stop Adarnamon from letting out a chuckle. Asshole.

"Idiot." Adarnamon countered as he went for a slap with his left wing. Not even stepping forward, the swing is betting on the size of the wing rather than... a sensible strategy to defeat all of us. This isn't hard to do. Just use your head. "Oh just shut it."

Adarnamon's wing slammed into Rantha, knocking his partner back a couple feet. Flipping the bird at the bird digimon, Rantha went in for one more attempt. A lot more successful than his initial attempt, he made a beeline back towards the rest of our heroes. Just in time for Ella to get her turret out. Doesn't look to be aimed at anything for the moment or really on currently.

"Bubbles dear?" the artificer remarked, the little dragon focusing on her over Adarnamon for the moment. Running over, he made sure to set Phusitmon down beforehand. "Could I perhaps use your infusion element?"

**Ella initiates a trade with Bubbles**

**Do you accept?**

**Yes/No**

Bubbles looked up to the buttons, tapping 'yes' with a claw. No real need to think this over (even if it was a bit of a stretch to reach the options). Sure, Phusitmon's healing bubbles were great in a pinch. But in a battle like this ('down' Blaze for the entire fight), having something simple and fast as the turret to provide was their best option. Or something along those lines. As for our little dragon, he would do his best to help. Even if he wasn't completely sure what he could do now. Maybe help Blaze? I digress though.

**Trade Terms: Temporary**

A pastel green outline formed around Ella's body as Cinemon got ready to head out to take Adarnamon on. Or at the very least, distract him while his partner got the turret all set up and ready for healing their teammates. If nothing else, it would probably be a surprise attack.

_It wouldn't. For this to be a surprise attack that would imply Adarnamon has no clue that Cinemon was actually there. But since you all came in like you sort of had some semblance of a plan. Of which you idiots don't. You could've made one. But you're not the kind of group to do that. No, you're the sort of group who rushes head on and just… acts. I can respect that._

Thanks, DM. I guess this is the one compliment we're going to get?

Silence. You know what? Fair enough. That's good enough for the moment. I guess expecting anything more than that was… foolish.

"Infuse!" Ella shouted, placing a hand on her turret. The change of magic mattered little to the weapon, getting ready to switch ammo types. While that was happening, Yvonne was making her way over to Rantha. Mostly to make sure that he was alright on top of drawing the bird digimon's focus away. "Mending!"

**Mewl!**

The sound shot out from the feline dog digimon, bringing Adarnamon's focus over to him. Not sure it actually did damage. If it somehow did, Adarnamon wasn't choosing to show it to everyone at the moment. Which is just rude. At least do the bare minimum for this fight!

Yet, my remark fell on deaf ears. Not that I was really expecting it to get a proper response. Mostly because our large bird digimon had his focus on Yvonne. Closing the distance in a remarkably short period of time, the rings of her khakkhara jingling about. Not exactly the soothing sound you would expect from such a weapon. Wonder what other surprises are hidden within that thing? Eh. Something to figure out when we're back in Aldia and things have settled down a touch. Oh dear. I've gone onto another tangent. Right now, my focus should be on Adarnamon and nothing else.

"Infuse!" Yvonne announced, a slate gray outline appearing around her body. "Spirit!"

Swinging her staff into Adarnamon, our bird digimon freezes in place. The rings of the khakkhara are strangely silent now. Guess that's a strange side effect of spirit? Sort of like how 'Ember' grows in heat the longer it's in use. Wonder what the other bonuses for the infusion elements are…

"Does it really matter?!" Adarnamon screeched as he tried to break free from this frozen state. Nonetheless, Rantha took this as his chance to get a couple sword swings in. Good form, though it still looks like you've got a touch more to get better at this. Plenty of opportunities after this.

"It does to him. All that really matters for the sake of this story." Rantha countered and went in for a punch to finish this combo off. Connecting with his partner's face, he found himself getting stared down for the moment. Not really threatening, more a slight annoyance for everyone in this room. "All you ever do is 'cure' people who need support by . You wouldn't understand."

Upon hearing that, Adarnamon went in for a peck. While Rantha was able to get out of the way at the last possible moment, it would seem that our bird digimon has finally broken free. Not before Blaze got a kick in. Not the most effective attack you've done, but when all you have is your feet… you make do with what you got.

"Oh? Do I have another vic- client that needs my special brand of treatment? I'm more than happy to help you with those burns, little boy." Adarnamon announced, focus shifting away from Rantha and over to Blaze. Yes, his recently burnt hands are on full display and we haven't really gotten a chance to repair the damage. Sure, that burn cream is up above in that plastic surgery place. No way that would help here.

So the dancer ignored his taunter. Not really much use in putting any thought into his shouting anyhow. Probably just make you even more frustrated.

"Infuse!" Blaze announced, red outline forming around his body. Balamon slithered up his body, gripping his left arm for the moment. "Ember!"

Doing a light hop, Blaze's foot connected with a piece of rubble and launched it up into the air. Heat rising within the tiny stone, it becomes a little ball of fire. Handy. Of course, falling back to the ground after combusting isn't very useful to us for the moment.

Right on cue, Munbimon shot her partner a look. What sounds like whispering followed, less strategic planning and more the filling in on what she had in mind. A nod and our ghost monkey digimon dismounted.

"Infuse!" Munbimon announced, a brown outline forming around her body. Adarnamon doesn't even focus on her, instead trying his hardest to not get frozen in place. Doesn't look to be doing that good of a job with that. "Dust!"

**Dust Kiss!**

Swooping down, Munbimon plopped a kiss onto Adarnamon's cheek. A cloud of dust followed, just low enough for Blaze to reach. Which is exactly what Blaze did, giving the dirt a low kick and stepped back. Just in time for the large cloud of dust to burst into flames Of course, Adarnamon didn't take too kindly to either gesture and began flapping his wings about. Shit. Shit. Brace yourself!

**Adarna Tornado!**

Wind and poison furiously swirl about the room, our heroes finding themselves launched up and floating about this enclosed structure. Thrown about, Ella is the only person who's able to hold on. But that's only because of the turret more than anything else. Especially as Madame tried their hardest to get their whip to connect to something.

"Idiot." Ella muttered and let her focus be on that of her girlfriend for the moment. Reaching out, Madame got the message - loud and clear. Throwing the whip out one more time, Ella grabbed hold. "What am I going to do with you?"

Madame rolled her eyes, mumblings of something following as the winds began to let up. I don't think I caught a lick of what was said. Not that it really matters. I have a pretty good idea what was said. But I'll let that be their little secret for the moment.

Yet, Madame jumped down to the ground. Kollmon came up behind them, having some general idea on what she needed to be doing right now. Which is totally why she's standing right behind her partner for the moment and totally not to get a one up on Adarnamon for the moment.

"Infuse!" Madame announced as a seafoam green formed around their body. Whip now free from Ella's grip, they pull it back in anticipation. "Gale!"

Swinging the whip forward, a gust of wind shot forth. Slamming right into Adarnamon, those nearby take this as their opportunity to strike. Quite effective, even if it doesn't look like we're quite there on wearing Adarnamon down. No, we need to corner him and lay things on h-

An icy spike shot off in the direction of our large bird digimon, bringing his focus over to Melody of all people. Lumosmon provides emotional support. Well, as much as one moth digimon can muster without the ability to speak.

"Oh right. The slut of my former master." Adarnamon muttered and slowly approached our mystic. Melody rolled her eyes and focused on Munbimon. Currently trying her best to catch up to Adarnamon with everyone else, she does notice the mystic's look at her. Something about that seemed to call her over.

"I have no idea what you're even talking about Mr Adarnamon." she countered and made a hand motion. Not really like anything I've ever seen before. Hand motions aren't my forte.

**Dust Kiss!**

Catching up to Adarnamon, Munbimon plopped another kiss on her opponent's cheek. Now that's a lot better. I knew you could do it. Like before, a cloud of dust showed up. This one though was a lot higher. Can't easily kick that for the moment.

**Bubble!**

Of course, Phusitmon collaborated on this and shot a bunch of bubbles out. Colliding with the dust, we now have ourselves… mud. Well, frozen mud now that a frozen spike has been added into the mix. All while Melody takes a couple swings with her sickles. Coming on top of everything else we've thrown at this stupid bird. You would think he would yield. Or if nothing else, taunt us a tiny bit more.

Right on cue, Adarnamon flipped the bird. Well, the avian digimon equivalent of such a move. Not that bad of an impression. Isn't really that effective though. Not in the heat of battle.

"You idiots are really starting to get on my nerves." Adarnamon announced, gaze shifting to the rocks. "Rantha, do you know how many people have climbed this tower? How many have gathered the dragon's riches and then headed on with their lives?"

Adarnamon's words roll out, Rantha's gaze shooting over to him. Part of the artisan didn't want to answer that question. Sure, he had no real clue the exact number. Doesn't even factor the number of people who might have done it in the memories that Adarnamon created for him to believe that hadn't actually climbed this place. But something else seemed to stick out. Why a question in regard to that? At no other point had it really mattered in why people were actually climbing this structure. Why did it somehow matter now? Unless… No. That would be a stretch. Even by the standards of this world.

_Perhaps that's the answer and only by saying will things become clear, Mister._

"I don't know…" Rantha whispered, gaze shifting to the floor. Adarnamon began to chuckle, everyone's gazes now on him.

"You don't know because you're just a copy of some random shopkeeper that the creator of that world and those around him loved oh so much." Adarnamon explained as our heroes give him a confused look.

Was that your guess? Because that certainly wasn't mine.

_Not really? I was thinking more along the lines of him being a doppelganger of someone we haven't met before but Rantha had (somehow). What was your guess?_

I was under the assumption this was a whole test to see if Rantha was secretly a robot or not. Though, that was a complete and utter long shot on my part.

"So he's a copy of something created by a person?" Balamon remarked, Rantha's gaze finally returning to his partner. A million different things surged through his head. But within all of that, a single idea sprouted forth. Sure, he probably would've come to that conclusion as well eventually. One of the few good things that Adarnamon actually did for him. Even if the purpose was ironically, meant to break our artisan's spirit and bring an end to this fight. Which is very much forgetting the part that our large bird digimon is currently outnumbered.

"You are right on the money, Balamon." Adarnamon answered, gaze more on Balamon than his actual partner currently. Rantha is paying his full attention to you. At least extend the favor to him in return. "Why the hell would I give two shits about a fake person who thinks he can actually change himself for the better. Oh please. The moment that he walks out of here it'll be as if nothing has actually changed - suicidal, self-destructive and unable to solve his own problems without the help of my cu-

Adarnamon's privilege to finish that truly wonderful sentence is cut off by Rantha giving him a slight kick. While not really effective, he does send quite a message to his partner.

"Bullshit. Quite fitting for a creature that only seems capable of doing just that and nothing more." Rantha screeched and pointed his scimitar at Adarnamon. Muttering something under his breath, the scars of cuts left alone on full display. "If you believe that I'm unable to change, that's your fucking problem - not mine. It's going to take a hell of a lot of time and far more effort than perhaps I have right now, but I will become a better person."

Adarnamon just laughed. If I didn't know any better, probably would think he was under some kind of strange spell or curse. But no, this is the honest reaction to someone making a commitment to change their life for the better or die trying. That's also their partner for who knows how many years. Absolutely despicable.

**Shade Claw!**

Thankfully, this was the moment Kollmon made herself known once more - smashing her claws into Adarnamon's side. Looks quite painful. Definitely a sneak attack on full display.

"Wonderful." Adarnamon muttered and picked Kollmon up with his beak. Flinging her back to Madame, the thief managed to catch their partner. A deep breath followed.

"Like, not cool." Kollmon muttered as she was set back down on the carpeted floor. Doesn't stop her from glaring the whole way down. Yet, Adarnamon slowly opens his mouth up. At first, nothing comes out. But then…

**Seven Song!**

An ear-piercing screech echoed about the arena, Adarnamon's tails feathers beginning to glow six colors - red, yellow, green, cyan, blue and violet. Or is that purple? The last one could be either. Not that it really matters. The attack is probably going to end ri-

The red on the tail feathers fades away to gray, heat coursing through the room. While nothing is on fire currently, it's only a matter of time really. No need to panic.

"Rantha!" Yvonne shouted, the artisan's gaze locking on her for the moment. Not entirely sure how she managed to shout over Adarnamon's screeching. Perhaps it's just a trick of the mind. Wouldn't surprise me at this point. "Could you try infusion with Adarnamon?"

Rantha shot Yvonne a confused glance, unsure of what exactly the knight had in mind for him at the moment. Could be just about anything at this point. Got to have an open mind when you're faced with these crazy situations. Especially those without a clear solution.

"Are you crazy? There's no way that would actually work with him now." the artisan countered, not even stopping himself from digging his digivice out for the moment. Device now in hand, his focus returned to her.

"We don't know that." Yvonne countered, setting Bubbles down behind herself for the moment. Flustered as the little dragon was currently, he's holding up surprisingly well. Better than some people who are twice his age. "If it doesn't for whatever reason, we can continue beating on him until he relents."

The words roll out, Rantha's gaze already focusing on his partner. Quite a gamble. But after getting this far, what's a little risk. It was risky enough to just agree to go along with our heroes. Even more so to trust all of them to not kill him in retaliation for all the damage and destruction caused to Aldia and it's citizens. In turn, he would take this risk in turn to repay the favor.

Turning to face his partner, Rantha walked forward. Right as the yellow portion of the Adarnamon's feathers faded to gray. Sand decided to join the heat, making vision quite a challenge for the moment. Considering the various infusion elements at play right now, it might be best to let it pass through. Or figure out a way to bring an end to this barrage of elements. Not that Adarnamon was showing any real signs of letting up.

The green was the next color to go, bringing with it the gust of winds from before. No sign of the poison… yet. That's probably the last part of this awful attack. While Rantha is making good time towards his partner, the winds are kicking his butt. At least a tiny bit. Especially as the cyan disappears. A paradox - everything both super hot and somehow… super cold. Okay, this is just getting silly. We get it. You want us all dead. But could you maybe pick up the pace?

"Adarnamon!" Rantha screeched, his cautious walk turning into a full-on run at the moment. Even against everything thrown at him, he still pushed forward through this storm. "End this."

Adarnamon rolled his eyes, the blue of his feathers fading away. Okay. This might be a good thing. He has to be nearing the end of his attack, right? Of course not. He began flooding the top floor. No kill like overkill, I guess.

"What are you going to do, Rantha?" Adarnamon countered, the artisan now mere steps away from him . Of course, this is also the moment that all the water decides to come on down. "Cut me to death? You make me laugh."

Rantha rolled his eyes and lowered his blade. Taking a deep breath, the artisan looked his partner in the eye and grabbed hold of Adarnamon's tail feathers. Pulling himself up onto the large bird's digimon back, the words came to him. A purple outline formed, free from goop and other strange substances. Quite soothing, especially as his partner is seconds away from realizing what's happening.

"Infuse!" Rantha announced and looked down at Adarnamon's head. To say they had fucked up this second chance would be nothing short of an understatement. Looking this rare third chance right in the eye, they would have to give their all in order to prevent a repeat of this chain of events and false memories. "Toxin!"

The screaming stops and the storm subsides. Beyond that, Adarnamon begins to shrink down. Did we do it? Is this our victory?

Returning infusion elements to their respective owners…

I guess that's a confirmation of this battle ending. Whoo. We did it!

"You idiot." Adarnamon muttered, his bird body giving way to that of a much smaller feathered scorpion - Carinamon. "I guess it was only a matter of time before you would finally break through. Sorry about this."

Carefully, Rantha picked his partner up and set him down on his shoulder. Confused, Carinamon crawled over to the other shoulder. Looks equally comfortable whichever position you choose. Just… decide on one and stick to it.

"This is our chance to fix this mess and change our lives." Rantha explained and let his attention turn to Kollmon of all people. Not needing another word spoken, the mole digimon shot off. All while everyone else watched patiently and observed the final floor marker appear.

[Tower at the edge of the F8]

.

For the moment, Kollmon felt the butterflies bouncing about within. Sure, being up this high in the air would do that to most people. Which is

"I can do this." she thought and stepped onto solid ground. Then it's right back to running. The door to the building is thankfully open. A little plus in what has already been a crazy day for the mole digimon and everyone else at the moment. "Now where is that diary…"

Passing by the many frozen men and women waiting for their procedures in the reception area, she took a right and headed further into the building. There has to be some kind of staff area around here somewhere. Wait. Couldn't you just get her name off the locker or is there some kind of complication in regards to that?

"Her locker was the only one that wasn't marked." Kollmon answered and squeezed through the gap of a door. On the other side, we find ourselves in a room with lockers. Names of all kinds mark all of them - except one. Bingo. Just a matter of opening that one… Crud. This is going to be a mess, isn't it?

Kollmon shrugged, making her way over to the locker. Grabbing hold of the metal door, a tug followed. Getting flung back to the doorway, a copy of the locker door falls out and an open version of the locker appears. Which means we can get at the contents inside. Which hopefully includes the diary. Maybe even some burn cream. Get two birds with one stone.

"Maybe." Kollmon answered and walked over to the locker. This was it. Heart beating a million miles an hour, she reached on in. Grabbing hold one more time, the mole digimon found herself holding a plain notebook. Even a small picture of a car. "Wait. How do you know what a car is?"

I saw it when DM smashed one into that 'hot dog' place you guys had rations at. Maybe it was used as a teaching aid for someone but didn't get to use it.

Kollmon nodded and let her focus return to the diary. But not before tugging out a strange-looking jar. I'm just going to assume that's the burn cream. Make sure to bring that on back to Blaze once you're done here.

Yet, the mole digimon didn't answer. Taking one more deep breath, she opened her mouth up and the words rolled right out.

"Her name is Cassandra." she whispered, the weight lifting off her tiny body. For the first time in the last couple days, the mole digimon felt happier. Of course, more memories began to seep in as a result - days spent waiting patiently for her partner to get off work.

"Could you bring me a magazine at least one of these times?" she would shout and Clarissa would just chuckle. That was definitely where her strange way of speaking started. Okay, they did have magazines at home. But none of those really sparked an int- Fuck. that's another pun. Uh… don't mind me while you're in the middle of that flashback.

Of course, it wasn't always great. Sometimes, trouble did break out in the reception area. Usually, some mother or father who didn't like their grown ass children making decisions about their body without them being there. Even though they were no longer their guardian in a majority of those cases. Then there was the one time a Greymon thought they had kidnapped their owner and smashed through. Turns out that was what the local church had done. Conversion therapy they called it. Just the name alone sounds absolutely fucked up.

Shaking. Uh… I'm not entirely sure why saying the name of your former owner or remembering all that stuff triggered that, but it's probably a good idea to get back to everyone else for the moment. At least tell them the news and hand the burn cr-

She's already heading back, leaving right as you started your sentence.

Thanks for the heads-up DM. With that now out of the way, I rush to catch-up with our mole digimon. Not that bad to do. Especially as Kollmon reached the steps leading back down to the second-to-last floor of this tower.

"Did you find it?" Madame inquired, Kollmon taking the time to put the burn cream into Blaze's purse. Then it was time to hold up the diary for everyone to see. "Whoo. Feeling better now?"

No answer. Well, not yet at least.

"A tiny bit." Kollmon answered, finding herself getting treated to a hug of all gestures from Bubbles. You definitely deserve it after all that. "Though, how exactly are we going to get down?"

Silence. To be fair, none of us really put that much thought into how exactly we would do that. DM, got anything that could help in a situation like this?

_Maybe. I can spawn a car and then fling it through the window. It probably won't be the nicest ride, but it should make things easy for you to get back to this Cassandra person and say you're last words. Then you can head home._

Their words echo about our heads. After everything that we've gone through, it's coming to an end for the moment. Sure, it's likely that a chance will come to talk with all of them again. Distant Harmony is far from done at the moment. Sooner or later we'll all be back her in the digital world.

"Wait. We can head back?" Blaze remarked as his gaze shifted to the glass. Peering right on through, the mountains are clearly gone. The one and only barrier holding us in has disappeared. We can actually leave this place. Does that mean we completed this Digital Dungeon in its entirety? Or at least the main part of it?

_Correct. Surprised there wasn't some congratulatory message for completing such a trial. Oh well. Let me get you that vehicle._

Right before our very eyes, a large hunk of metal and glass appeared. This would've been good to know about a couple of days ago when we were heading towards this tower. Though, you were also pretty pissed about us showing up at the time and were intent on killing us.

Yeah. Not my finest moment. There should hopefully be enough room for all of you to make the ride back.

"Thanks?" Yvonne remarked and stepped up to this strange vehicle. Carefully ducking down, she slipped into the back. Munbimon jumped into her lap, while Blaze and Balamon tried their hardest to slip in. Thankfully, they didn't have much trouble actually getting in. Especially as both Madame and Ella, along with their partners joined the duo in the vehicle.

"Do you want me to apply the cream to your hands?" Madame remarked, Blaze giving the thief a nod. So they dug into his purse and pulled the jar out. Twisting off the lid, they take their time in applying the cream to our dancer's burns. Looks pretty soothing and probably going to help the healing process. Hopefully.

Once Madame is finished with that, Bubbles squeezes his way through. Holding Phusitmon up above his head, he took a seat in between his mommies. Then it was time for his partner to sit down in his lap.

"Would anyone mind if I sat up front?" Melody remarked and found herself getting treated to head shakes for the moment. Taking the time to grab hold of Lumosmon, that just leaves one last person to get their butt in here.

"Hey." Rantha muttered, jumping in what I assume to be the seat to actually control the vehicle. Not that he or Carinamon were really going to do at the moment, DM doing it for us. Maybe in the future we'll get a chance to do just that.

_Okay… this ride is probably going to be really bumpy. At least the start of it. So please hold on._

With that, the vehicle shot off through the glass and headed for the ground below. While my knowledge on these vehicles is perhaps limited, I doubt that this is how you're supposed to maneuver such vehicles. Does make the journey a lot quicker. Perhaps… a bit too easy for my liking.

"I'll have to agree with you there." Yvonne remarked, gaze shifting to a side window. The scenery zooms right on. Kind of hard to make anything out from this view. You would either need to slow the vehicle down or come up with a different option. Possibly both, defeating the whole purpose of this thing. Well, I think it would at least. Would need to take more 'rides' to really see if this is the case.

Science. To be fair, it's probably going to be some time before you get to hear my voice. Guess it's best to savor this moment before it fades away and I have to go back to what remains of my home and job. Hopefully there will be something, anything for me when I get back there. Oh. Didn't mean to sour the mood like that.

Slowing down, we come upon the home of Kollmon's former owner. Billie and Tavern are long gone now. Probably heading on too new frontiers after getting stuck here for the last couple days. Hopefully, that numemon went with them. Good riddance to him.

"I'm going to make this quick." Kollmon announced and opened the door up. Heading out, it doesn't take the mole digimon very long to enter her former home. Quite a lot different now that you remember.

"Cassandra, I'm home!" Kollmon announced, her former partner unable to even look in that general direction. No, she just stands there. So the mole digimon makes her way over. Letting her arms wrap around the woman's frozen body, tears begin to roll right on down.

"T….h….a….n...k y…..o….u." Cassandra croaked out, trying her hardest to reach out to Kollmon. She's not very successful, but Kollmon gets the general idea. "G….o…"

A nod, her former taking a little bit of time to just wave. That was the least one could do at this moment. Even as she stepped out of this place and headed back to the car, things felt right now. Sure, something would definitely happen that would offset this feeling. But in this moment, she had fulfilled her mission.

"Did you say your goodbye?" Madame remarked and got a nod in return. Carefully, they grab hold of their partner's hand. Then it's a matter of just following everyone else back to the dimensional matrix. Doesn't take too long. Funny how fast things change in just a couple of days. Wonder how long it's been on Aldia? Eh. We're about to find out.

"Let's do this." Yvonne remarked, everyone getting their D-Venture or Digivice ready. One by one, they scan their device and get a chime. The door opens and pulls their heroes thro-

.

_Astral Academy, Dimensional Space_

Mister Lore Mage stares about the general area of what I can only assume to be to be his home. General wardrobe for today, just a red shirt and tan jacket. Nothing special

"DM, is that you?" he calls out, an egg of all things sitting at his feet. Yeah it's me. Surprised that this actually works - a weird side effect of my maintenance procedures in the hopes of moving to a proper body. "Did you by chance also get an egg?"

Yes. I'm going to assume you need to rub it. Great and all, except for the fact that I don't have hands and can't really rub it. So I'm hoping that by rubbing your egg it will somehow open mine by sheer coincidence.

"I'll give it a shot." Mister Lore Mage answers and picked this strange gift up. Wonder who went out of their way to send us this of all things. Giving it a slight rub, light burst forth from the egg as cracks began to form. Then…

"Hi there, I'm Salamon and we're partners!" a voice announces as what appears to be a hairless dog digimon thing appe- Hey! Stop licking that! You'll get electrocuted!

"I'm guessing it worked then." Mister Lore Mage remarks as he picks his partner up. "It's nice to meet you."

* * *

Notes:

Whoo. That's the end of Rantha's arc. Been quite a ride getting here, but I'm glad to be there.

A short break, than onto other things.

.

Next Time: Back in Aldia. Been a while.


	56. Home Sweet Home

I don't own digimon.

* * *

After taking a couple minutes to just get my newfound friend settled in to the world, my attention returns back to the city of Aldia. For the moment, I'll just start with Ella and Madame. They are the closest to where we left off. Though if I'm being totally honest at the moment, it feels absolutely bizarre to be back here. But that's beyond the point.

"Maddie?" Ella whispered, shifting her position in the chair. The pair are currently in the kitchen of all places. As for Bubbles, he was putting his new dress in with all of Madame's. Then it would be right back to wearing his old dress. Which… fair enough.

"Yes, Ella?" Madame called out, making some tea right now. After everything that had happened, it felt odd to be back here. Sure, this was their home for their whole life. But it had never felt like one up until this moment.

"When do you want to get that suit?" Ella remarked and found her girlfriend's gaze swiveling back over to her. Sure, that was what? A couple hours ago. Might be best to give it a day or two. Especially after the excitement we h- Oh right. They can no longer hear me. I used to be kind of fine with this. But now, it's kind of lonely. Sure, I have Salamon, but I'm not completely sure what their personality is or if they even like me in the first place. But I digress.

"We don't even know if the clothing place is even open." Madame countered as they set a tea cup down on the table. "While I am a 'lady' of my word, there are other more important things at the moment."

Ella looked away, thoughts of her inn and what remained flooding back in. In between all that happened in the digital world, it's easy to forget the stuff that went down before heading through the door. But now, that is what our focus needs to be on currently.

"In that case, when do you want to at least survey the damages?" Ella continued as Madame grabbed the kettle. Bringing it over, a sigh looked to be the thief's initial response. But then they sit down and pour a cup.

"Whenever you feel ready to. It's your place after all." Madame answered and got a nod from their girlfriend. Even as they got up to get a cup of their own. "Any preference or anything?"

Ella just shook her head and grabbed a cup. Then it's just a matter of pouring the tea. Easier said than done when your girlfriend is still holding it. Though, not for much longer.

"So later then." the artificer remarked, pouring the beverage into the cup and took a sip. Looking away for just a moment, she's trying her hardest to not spit it out. She's not very successful on that front. "How the heck do you even drink this?"

Madame let out a chuckle and took the cup off of Ella's hands. Setting it down on the table, a crash echoing from further in the hall. Oh dear.

"Years and years of drinking it." Madame answered and looked out into the doorway. Not really anything to see at the moment. Just a bunch of strange sticks (got to be a better word to describe those things). Better yet, why do those things have a bunch of fabric at the end? Not be very useful "Those are parasols. I think they were found by a previous 'Madame' and they kept them around for some reason. I don't think I've ever actually got one open."

Good to kn- Wait. You can still hear me? I thought that after you all past the door the connection would've been broken. Guess that was somehow not the case. Or perhaps our time spent on the other side solidified whatever strange connection I have with you guys.

But for the moment, both mother's head for the dressing room. Their partners follow right behind, Kollmon setting the diary she grabbed down on the table. Don't really blame you for being curious. Anything of note?

The mole digimon shook her head and dashed off to join up with everyone else. Not that this was really difficult - Madame's dressing room is just down the hall and everyone has short legs. Well, except Cinemon who has four legs. But I digress

"Princess?" Bubbles called out, a claw reaching out from under the stack of 'parasols'. Looks to be quite stuck for the moment.

"We're here, Bubbles." Madame cooed as she grabbed hold of a handful of these 'parasols'. Ella did the same, the couple pulling back at the same time. There we find our little dragon cradling an icy blue parasol. Matching the dress adorning him, this 'accessory' looks to be a touch too big for him.

"Can I have it?" Bubbles remarked, Phusitmon pulling himself up from said 'parasol'. While not in a good mood, the plush rabbit digimon looks no worse for the wear. Especially as he tried to pull the rod away. After, he let his focus turn to Madame and Ella.

"Uh..." Madame remarked as they picked up the parasol from Phusitmon. Moving it about for the moment, there has to be some sort of way to activate it. Maybe there's a button on the side?

Moving a hand about the parasol, a click followed and the fabric opened up. Good to see we've solved that mystery. Which just begs the question on whether or not Bubbles would be able to hold it.

So carefully, the thief handed the parasol back to their child. The little dragon waves it about, trying his hardest to not fall over. He's mostly successful on that front. Though, how the heck is he going to close that thing?

Ella's gaze swiveled over to her girlfriend at the moment. Then it's over to Bubbles, who gladly hands over his newfound toy. While it takes her a few minutes, eventually the parasol returns to its closed state or whatever you're supposed to call this form.

"Maybe when you're a bit bigger, dear." Madame explained and got a nod from the little dragon. Setting the parasol upright, they find themselves assaulted with hugs. Definitely worse things to be treated too. Especially as Ella joined Bubbles in this embrace.

.

Across town, Blaze was still on his way home. Sure, things looked mostly how they were when you left, but that could be the result of a variety of factors. All of which are out of your control.

"Oh, Hi Mister." the dancer called out, staring up towards the sky. Yeah. It would seem that I'm able to talk to you guys here. I'm not completely sure why it's happening (perhaps it has something to do with the salamon that appeared on my end). "Wait. You have a digimon now?"

Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are. Not sure why me or DM really need a digimon at the moment. Were both narrators. What is use is a digital monster to us when our main focus is on people in other worl- Ow. Yes, that's my hand. I'm just trying to explain to Blaze your appearance and to check on how he's doing right now. Yes, that might not be the most interesting thing in the world to you, that's my job. I am very much aware that the world around me is in complete ruin. It wasn't always like that. Yes, I'm aware that's weir-

Sorry about this. Salamon is still adjusting to his new environment and they seem to have a lot of questions.

"It's alright." Blaze answered, gaze returning back to the streets ahead. The outskirts of town came into view, just a little bit further to his home and hopefully… Dave. As his home got closer, something was different now. What had once been a single room shack had been completely transformed into a small home. Wooden boxes filled with dirt line the front, plants of all kinds growing out from them. A pair of chairs have been set out right beside these containers, with the entrance to the home just a bit to the right of them. Speaking on entrances, the door has gotten a nice shade of blue with a little lantern. Sure, you'll need to light it to get the most use out of it, but that's quite an upgrade from having nothing of the sort when the night comes around. Within all of that, no sign of Dave.

"Probably inside." Balamon suggested, his partner already making his way over to the door. Giving it a slight tap with his foot, the pair waited a couple moments. But no response came to their request to enter. "Maybe he's not ho-"

Balamon was unable to finish that sentence, a pair of arms grabbing hold and wrapping around Blaze's stomach.

"Welcome home, Master!" Dave announced and carefully spun his boyfriend around. For today's excursion, our maid was decked out in a tan shirt and pants with a green apron covering parts of both garments. A pair of boots clung to his feet, which didn't have anything on the sun hat on Dave's head. "You've been gone for a couple of months. I was starting to get worried you weren't coming back, or found someone else…"

Blaze took a deep breath, focusing solely on the face of his boyfriend. He was going to need to make this up for Dave. But how exactly was he going to do that? His hands were nowhere ready to be in a state to actually use anything, let alone something like a knife to chop up just about anything. So slowly, he let his face get closer to Dave's. Lips met lips. The results are… alright. You've seen Munbimon kiss peo-

Still gripping Blaze, Dave's footing shifted and gravity took hold. The two men were pulled down, still in this loving embrace.

"Does that settle this?" Blaze whispered, our couple pulling themselves up. Dave ended his embrace and the two broke away. But not before getting a look at the burns on Blaze's hands. "Yeah… Get dressed and I'll fill you in on what happened.

Dave nodded and opened the door. Heading on through, we find ourselves in a living room. Where else would you put a long mirror with a bar to practice ballet or other types of dance moves.

"What do you think of your new home?" Dave continued, both Blaze and Balamon looking about the space. While there still wasn't much in the way of furniture or things to make it their home, it's quite a step up from what was here before.

"We still do have a kitchen and a bedroom, right?" Blaze remarked, Balamon slithering down his arm and to the floor below. Looks to be mostly carpet, with the space by the large mirror being reserved for wooden flooring.

"Of course." Dave answered, dashing off to the leftmost room. Closing the door behind him, that just leaves our dancer with a moment to his thoughts. Sure, this is definitely not what you were expecting to find when you returned here. Even if Dave didn't build this himself, that's still quite a present he just gave you.

"Yeah…" Blaze whispered and turned to his clothes. Then it's over to the purse. You're not going to do what I think you're going to do… right? "Not at all. I just think it would be a good idea to at least get the bunny girl outfit out."

Oh. I thought you were actually going to get changed right now since it would just be you and Balamon in the room. The only way that could work though is if you're either able to use your hands or Balamon helps you in some fashion.

Balamon's gaze shot up to the ceiling. I'm kidding. There isn't really a good way to have you do that, as much as I think you would like to help. Or was I wrong in my assessment?

"Fair enough." the snake digimon announced and slithered back over to his partner. Currently, Blaze was looking for a place to put his purse down. Then he could get to pulling the outfit and show it to Dave. Or would've, if his maid hadn't opened the door. Decked out in the maid dress from before, this is as a good of a time as any to look at his hair. Sure, it was pretty close to a boyish cut when everyone left. Now, it was a long blonde braid hanging near to his waist.

"Let me get for you, master." Dave announced and carefully pulled the dancer's purse off of his arm. In turn, that got a full-on view of the bunny girl costume. Judging by the look he's giving to Blaze at the moment, there's a touch of confusion. Which… fair enough.

"Rantha gave it to me so I could wear it." Blaze explained, his boyfriend's attention turning back to him at the moment. "If you want… I can put it on. You just need to help me do that."

His words ring out, the focus shifting right back to the burns on his palms. This is just as good of a time as any to fill Dave in on your little stunt. Something something, honesty is the best policy. Or something along those lines. Never been too sure how well that works in practice. I digress though. Wasn't entirely sure where I was going with that explanation. Uh… just ignore me for the moment.

"I tried to pole dance and play with fire." Blaze announced and got treated to a look from Dave. Yeah, you kind of deserve that at the moment. Your pole dancing skills were already good enough on their own. You didn't need to use your infusion element at that moment.

Yet, Dave grabbed hold of Blaze's hand and pulled the dancer into the room he had just exited. Bunny girl outfit in hand, I guess that's a good enough explanation. At least get it cleaned in some fashion after this.

Oh right. The room. Compared to the room our pair had just left, this looked to be more intimate. What looks to be a large dresser for outfits stands on the left side of the room, a shoe rack sitting right beside it. Finishing the room off is a large bed for at least two people. Even has a little bed for one's pet. Or in this case, digimon partner.

"Uh… why were you pole dancing?" Dave remarked and got a deep breath from Blaze. Where do we even begin on that front? Better yet, why is a disembodied voice not something that weirds you out. "It's a common part of fiction back where I'm from. Uh… by any chance do you have a name?

Oh. I'm Mister Lore Mage. Yes, Mister is my first name. You can blame my parent's friend for that wonderful choice. To answer your initial question, Blaze was pole dancing because there was a 'club' in the middle of the dungeon we were traversing through. Said floor having a dragon of all creatures guarding it. The only way we could get through is by pole dancing… Yes really.

"Yeah…" Blaze muttered, Dave carefully pulling off his shirt. Next was his pants, with the socks following right after. Good thing you remembered to take off your shoes. "I had the 'bright' idea to use my fire in the hopes of catching the dragon's attention."

Dave nodded, carefully slipping the stockings up his boyfriend's legs. Next comes the heels, even if there was time taken to compare these to the ones on his feet. Look to be around the same size, though I doubt it's good for a maid to have their mind on footwear of all things. But I digress, the leotard coming next.

"Did you at least get their attention?" Dave continued and Blaze looked away. Guess this is now my turn to tell this story. To answer your question, Dave, yes. Blaze did in fact get the attention of the dragon. Which his teammates took as their opportunity to book it to the staircase. Something the dragon didn't take too kindly for some reason. He wanted to see Bubbles, who's a little red dragon. Though… a friend of ours bailed them with this 'car' thing once we had dealt with Rantha's large bird thing.

The bracelets come next, followed by the collar. Then it's just the bunny ears. Slipping those onto the dancer's head, the look is complete.

"What do you think?" Blaze remarked, finding his boyfriend drawn in. Leading the maid over to the bed, both men fall onto it. "Let's stay like this for a bit."

"Yeah…" Dave whispered, finding himself wrapped in the embrace of his boyfriend.

.

Yvonne had chosen to take the scenic route around Aldia before heading back to her home. To be fair, it's a good idea to look over your surroundings to see what's changed. Oh right. I'm still able to talk to you guys but I'm not exactly sure… why. Also, DM and I have been given a Salamon by someone… I don't think it was the same person

"Good to know?" Yvonne remarked and took a deep breath. Even as what remained of the alleyways, work looks to be mainly focused on putting roofs over people's heads. Especially as one of the few inns was destroyed a couple months ago. "Wait. It's been a couple months?"

Yeah… There hasn't been any special occasions that could have possibly happened while you were gone, right?

The knight looked away, carefully pulling out the cherry-scented stuffed bear in her armor. As hopefully as she had been to find some kind of thread and a needle to repair the damages done, that had turned out to be unlikely. Even then, that still would require explaining the injury to the bear along with that of her armor.

"What's this about a hole in your armor?" a voice called out and Yvonne turned around, Marulyn right in front of her at the moment. Still decked out in her mage robes, she looked a touch frustrated. I would probably be as well if the person I loved was gone for a couple months with no real update on what they were doing. Which would be on top of the increase of work said person created by accident that you now have to deal with.

"Some crazy lady tried to impale me." Yvonne explained, the rings of her khakkhara jingling about as she came to a stop. Marulyn's gaze shifted away from the hole in the knight's armor and over to her weapon of choice. "I did manage to grab this strange weapon off of her in the process, though."

A nod, followed by the knight pulling her girlfriend in. The embrace that follows is tender yet careful. Don't want to break the armor anymore than it already is currently.

"You did bring me the scrap necessary to forge you a new pair of gauntlets?" Marulyn inquired, Yvonne opening her purse up. Out comes the scrap metal, collected mere days ago. Well… mere digital days ago. Not quite sure how it compares to days in Aldia exactly. Doesn't really matter. "Good. Happy Birthday by the way."

* * *

Notes:

And we're back. Quite a lot chiller chapter than usual. Mostly because things are going to be peaceful. At least for the next couple in-universe days.

.

Next Time: Lots of talking.


	57. Talking with each other

I don't own digimon.

The following chapter contains one minor reference of Transphobia in 'flashback' form. Just thought I would warn you.

* * *

Her words roll right on out, Yvonne looking away. A million different thoughts swirled about the knight's head at the moment. Quite a coincidence to end up back in Aldia on a special day as this. Though, I would personally prefer to at least show up a couple days. Makes life a lot easier.

"Is the weird talking voice with you?" Marulyn continued, referring to me of all people. Unless there's somehow a different talking voice you've been hearing lately. Hi there Marulyn Gold. I'm Mister Lore Mage. Yes, Mister is my first name. Long story.

"Yeah." Yvonne remarked and took a deep breath. Sure, this wasn't entirely how she had imagined her day going. A welcome surprise in her books. Yet, her mind was already drifting to something else - the conversation when she went to pick up Munbimon after Rantha had frozen up that clothing store. That one. Doesn't feel that long ago, but it very much was a couple months ago when that particular conversation had even happened. Sure, she hoped that Marulyn had taken some time to evaluate their relationship. In between the mess that had been Rantha and Carinamon's, DM and everything else that had happened, Yvonne had somehow come up with what she felt to be a satisfying answer to this conundrum. Well, she had hoped it would at least be satisfying. Everyone was going through something different, making it a touch hard to trade notes and find similar solutions to the stuff they were going through. "I did some thinking and I still want to be your armor."

Her words ring out, Munbimon taking the time to jump off. Don't really blame her, this is a big moment. The last thing you want is for this to be blown by some outside factor.

"You still have quite a number of years ahe-" Marulyn started, Yvonne now standing behind her. Arms carefully wrapping around her girlfriend's waist, a hug following. The elven mage accepted the gesture.

"I'm nearing the end of my prime anyhow." Yvonne countered, carefully squeezing her girlfriend for the moment. The words are right there. While the worst possible solution, she needed to say them. "In a couple of years, I'll need to either take up leadership as chieftain or… be dead."

Oh. Orcs don't have long lifespans. Most fall in battle from either their wounds or getting caught by adventurers and killed right then and there. What few orc students we did get usually made arrangements for their belongings to just be given to their classmates. Easier that way they would tell us. Doesn't make telling those related to them that their family has passed by way of a freak mandrake accident or due to a summon who wasn't quite under control as they let on. Even worse is having to go in person. Of the few messengers that do make it back, some have reported that the entire tribe was dead. If by some miracle the tribe is still alive, they're usually keen on just eating the messenger.

Wait. That would explain why the orcs here 'took up arms' with succubi of all creatures - who can live theoretically forever and would have been able to remember any past plans that the orcs had made. Whether that actually works remains to be seen in practice. But I digress. Just something to keep in mind for the moment.

"Outside of getting a new set of gauntlets ready…" Marulyn remarked, Yvonne finally letting go of her and taking a small step back. Just enough so that the elven mage could have some space for the moment. "Why don't I treat you to dinner?"

Yvonne looked away and motioned for Munbimon to glide back on over. Taking a seat on her partner's shoulder, it's right back to looking at Marulyn.

"Would you mind if I brought along some friends?" Yvonne remarked, Marulyn just nodding for the moment. To be fair, it has been a while since any of you had gotten an actual meal. No, the rations don't count. If anything, those things looked to be the farthest one can get from a proper meal.

"That bad?" Marulyn remarked, Yvonne carefully pulling some ration tins out from her purse. We never did find a place to dispose of them. Those tins are all metal, so maybe you can find some use in them for the gauntlets at least?

The elven mage nodded, accepting the gift and making a beeline for her little base. Yvonne followed right behind, keeping to just holding her girlfriend's hand at the moment as what remained of the alleyways came into view finally.

For what had once been an enclosed area full of walls was now an open area with houses galore. Just one small problem at the moment - a lot of those houses aren't quite ready for their inhabitants. Most of the foundation had been put up and what appears to be walls are already in place. But beyond that, there isn't much in the way of actual structures to provide a roof over one's head. Still, it's better than the way things were when our heroes left Aldia to chase after Rantha and his bird scorpion thing.

"Even then, it's was more Carinamon than it was Rantha." Yvonne remarked, Marulyn's forge/workshop coming into view. Though, her remark did get a look from the elven mage. Yeah… As it turned out, he had his memories overwritten and was going off a whole bunch of false stuff. Lots of self-harm too. That's probably more worrying than the false memories. Sure, he might be doing better now. We're going to need to keep an eye on him so that he keeps on the straight and narrow.

"I'm guessing you have some experience with that?" Yvonne remarked and I took a deep breath. Of course, this is the moment that Salamon decides to jump on my lap. I'm okay, bud. I'm just telling them about some memories I had. Nothing wrong with that. By any chance do you remember anything before you were sent down to me?

The hairless dog digimon does not answer my question. No, they've decided to just take a nap in my lap. While that sounds nice, I'll wait till you guys head to bed and then do the same. Though, by any chance do you know where Melody and Rantha are? I'm surprised I haven't seen either of them around here. Would assume the latter to at least be here if his words are to be true… or something along those lines. Though, we still need to find a place for Melody to stay. At least till more permanent lodging becomes available once more. Just one more thing to add to the long list of stuff you need to do.

Yvonne's gaze shot back up to the sky. Oh. Did something happen in the short period of time when I got Salamon or something? I shouldn't have been out for that is this a case of something else entirely at the moment?

"Rantha said something about going to grab his stuff with Melody. Hopefully, they aren't using this as an opportunity to really double cross us." the knight remarked, gaze shifting away from the clouds and back down to regular heights. I find that unlikely they would actually go through with something like that. If anything, they might be looking for DM. Didn't the other day Melody say something about them running into some purple haired girl?

"Hold up." Marulyn announced, stopping right in front of the door. Now, it was her turn to look up at the sky. Though this was more on the roof than the clouds above. Hm… where the hell do I even start in regards to this coming question? While the answer doesn't really change to an extent, just something to keep in mind before you ask your question. A lot of stuff happened in that other world. Some of which we don't quite have answers for at the exact moment in time. "Okay… who is this DM person?"

Less of a person, more of an entity. They are for lack of a better word - in charge of the place. Least to keep it up and running. A deity, if you really want to push it. Except not really.

"Initially, they were less than helpful." Yvonne continued, Marulyn pulling the door open. Heading inside, things had mostly been cleaned out. All the creepy stuff had been put away, with what appears to be blueprints taking the place of that stuff. I would say that's an improvement for the place. That's just me, though. "But after one of their subordinates turned on her and attempted to assassinate them. Kind of successful on that front."

Marulyn nodded, taking the time to set the gifts down on a table. Looks kind of crowded there, in between the scrolls and other miscellaneous junk. Once she's done, it's back outside.

"Then what?" the elven mage remarked as she closed the door behind herself. To continue with our story, DM became our ally. Though, they are also in the middle of rebuilding themselves and now have a small hairless dog digimon… without anything in the way of arms or hands for that matter. I do hope she's alright. "Gotcha."

With that, our pair began the journey back out of the former alleyways and for Blaze's place. Quite an upgrade he got.

"Yeah." Munbimon remarked, carefully climbing up to Yvonne's head. Taking a seat there, her gaze looked over the surroundings. In between all the structures going up, there seemed to be a lot of people around here. Not just orcs and succubi. A handful of elves, halflings and even succubi look to be helping in the rebuilding process. Even the grunts that had got dumped onto this place were pitching in. Easier said than done at the moment, more than enough at this current moment. Especially with how much there's still left to go on rebuilding this place. "Yvonne, what do you normally do for your birthday?"

Yvonne looked away, Marulyn letting out a chuckle in response to that. Oh dear. In that case, I'll go first to break the ice.

This year was the first time I had my birthday while working. So, some of my coworkers thought it would be really cute to summon a celestial of all things.

"A celestial?" Munbimon remarked, gaze shifting up towards the sky. "As in Ophanimon, Seraphimon and Cherubimon?"

Uh… not quite? Think more along those lines of an angel. They come in all sorts of varieties. We have Aasimars, Solars, even Ki-Rin. But that's beyond the point. Mostly because these idiots instead managed to summon a Marilith of all creatures. Imagine a snake crossed with a woman with many arms. Pretty good sport about it too. Said something about this is normal for her to happen. Did seem to like her tea with a lot of pepper in it. Not sure that's quite normal, even for a denizen of more infernal realms. Outside of that, the dinner was quite nice.

While I was telling my story, we've reached Blaze and Dave's abode. Passing right by their little garden, Yvonne knocked on their door.

"Give us a minute!" Blaze shouted, our knight taking a step back for the moment. Don't want to get hit by the door at the moment. Not that a piece of wood would actually do anything to Yvonne. More just common courtesy on her part. Especially since it took both our dancer and his maid a couple minutes to get changed back into their regular outfits. Doubt anyone really wants to see Blaze dressed up as a bunny girl. At all.

"Yeah…" Yvonne added as the pair in question make their exit. For this outing, Blaze had gone for a regular t-shirt and pants. The heels and legging did stay on. The rest of his outfit was thankfully a different set from those worn in the digital world. Dave on the other hand, decided to just remain in his maid outfit. Fair enough, even if it does look a touch out of place among everyone else's outfits. Not that Marulyn or Yvonne mind at the moment. Speaking of which, do you want me to continue with my story about birthdays or do you want to take your turn?

"I'll go next." Marulyn announced, our group heading forward at the moment. I would imagine with so many succubi, birthday parties are probably quite interesting. Yet, all I get is a chuckle. Guess it's the opposite then? "Compared to what?"

Fair point. I guess in regards to birthday parties here in Aldia. I should've phrased that far better than I did. Sorry about that.

Marulyn nodded, gaze returning to her girlfriend of all people. What sounds like whispering followed. A touch heated, but nothing major to really disrupt the relationship the pair had. Oh right. Blaze, Dave, we're talking about birthday parties and the weird stuff that our friends did to celebrate such an occasion. Got any particular fond memories in that regard?

Dave looked away, tears beginning to roll down his face. Crap. I forgot about that. My bad. Not my intention to bring up such nasty memories at the moment. Or did this bring forth something else entirely worse in the process of bringing that

A nod, followed by the maid grabbing hold of his boyfriend's wrist. A very careful squeeze followed. Blaze's gaze shifted over to Dave, a deep breath following.

"Mister Lore Mage didn't intend to bring up those bad memories. Especially after all you told me the other day." the dancer remarked, feeling the grip on his wrist tighten slightly. "There has to be some happy birthday memories… right?"

Dave's gaze shifted back to Blaze for the moment as we passed by the ruins of the Black Cat Inn. Taking a deep breath, the tears stopped.

"I met you." Dave answered, gaze still focused on his boyfriend at the moment. By this point, both Marulyn and Yvonne had noticed. Not they were saying anything at the moment. More just making sure things were alright. "Wait… Am I allowed to pretend the day I met you is my birthday?"

Blaze nodded. I personally see no problem with that. This is a world with magic, technology and weird conspiracies. Changing your birthday isn't that weird. If anything, that's the least weird thing one can do in a place like this.

"Better?" Yvonne remarked, getting a nod from Dave as Ella, Melody and Bubbles make their way over to them. Bringing up the rear is Cinemon with Kollmon on his back. Phusitmon is of course hanging onto his partner's back.

For the moment, our trio appear to be focused on the destruction of the Inn rather than the rest of the group. Fair enough. We kind of left town before really getting into the extent of the damages. Even if it's now a couple months later and the rubble has had a chance to shift about as a result of all kinds of factors. Weather, rain, even other peo-

Madame and Ella's gaze shot up to the sky for the moment. Yeah. I kind of found out right after I jumped over to Blaze and Dave. Did the tea get any better, at least?

Madame shook her head, getting a look from their girlfriend.

"She's not much of a tea drinker." Madame added and returned to focusing on the ruins of this once profitable building. Ella's gaze followed right after. Kind of hard to believe that this used to be a place where people used to spend the night. If they were feeling adventurous, maybe even

"It wasn't always an Inn at first." Ella whispered, gaze shifting to the area that had once been her room. Now, it was just a bunch of charred ashes. Charred ashes that will need to be torn down and rebuilt to an extent. "Was a bar at one point. The owners were the sort that seemed to think that 'brewing while you eat' would be a huge attraction and put everything on that."

Uh… even with magic, wouldn't there still need to be some time for the drinks to at least ferment and hopefully cool down? Which is on top of the mess that I would assume the machinery needed for brewing such drinks would inevitably create a mess for both the servers and the customers.

"Yeah… they didn't last long." Ella continued, Madame's turn to give her a look. "What? I would assume that you of all people would know about the place."

Madame looked away, Kollmon choosing now of all times to run up to join her partner. Still carrying that journal, I'm guessing some discovery was made within the pages. Or something else entirely.

"Like, Kinda…" Kollmon answered, flipping through the pages. Passages of all lengths fluttered past and some that didn't, the pages eventually stopping on one in particular.

_6/13/06_

_(Kollmon, you better not be doodling in this again!)_

_Dear Diary,_

_So today has been weird. For starters, I swore I saw some chick doing battle against a large monster right outside of the clinic. Kind of anticlimactic, especially after the girl disappeared._

_Adding onto the weirdness is the report of someone getting their asses kicked outside one of the headquarters of Izumi Tech Solutions. Name was Marcus Damon or something. Fairly severe injuries, didn't make it. Not entirely sure why all the news outlets were making such a big deal out of this guy. He looks like a delinquent. Kind of surprising that's newsworthy._

_Outside of that, in the process of getting approved for hormones. Of course, Kollmon took it absolutely wonderfully. One of these days, she'll understand. Hopefully._

Crud. The one time it would be handy to talk to DM at the moment. Oh well. We'll have to ask them about it the next time that we're in the digital world.

"Yeah." Kollmon remarked, closing the journal for the moment. "Wait. Aren't those Izumi Technology Solutions the ones who are in that analyzer thing?"

Our heroes' gazes shifted to the mole digimon. That's quite a find you got there. Sure, we can't really investigate it currently. Just something to keep in mind going forward.

"Yeah." Ella remarked, grabbing hold of her girlfriend's hand. Then it was just a matter of leading them back to the rest of the group. Not that I think Madame really needs that help. The thief doesn't mind though. Especially with their destination not being that far away.

* * *

Notes:

A nice, 'short' chapter for once as our breather continues.

.

Next Time: We have a meal and talk strategy.


	58. Planning for the future

I don't own digimon.

* * *

The walk to the Shaky Walls Cafe was thankfully brisk for once. Everyone was silent, the sound of footsteps serving as the only sound. A bit too eerie. Normally, I would fill this spot with a story from my time or some kind of useless trivia I know about the stuff taught there. Now, it just feels awkward to do that. On top of sounding like I'm bragging for the moment. Which is definitely not something that I want to be doing. Unless you do want me to tell a story or two.

"I don't think any of us would really mind in the slightest." Yvonne announced, gaze shifting to Dave for good measure. At the moment, Dave looked to be in better spirits. Good to see him rebound after my accidental mention of birthday parties. Let's see… Ah, here we go. Even when I was going to school here at the Astral Academy, there was always talk of something called 'Theuragy'. Though, it was always followed by, 'that's a myth created by priests'. Whenever I asked my fellow faculty members, they would always brush off my question and claim something along the lines of 'teaching and religion shouldn't mix'. Whatever the heck that actually means. Sure, most gods are at war with each other rather than actually taking in their follower's prayers. Hopefully, they'll eventually settle their differences. But for now, I'm the only one here on this hunk of rock.

"Only one?" Bubbles inquired as he looked up towards the sky. Yeah. It's just me and Salamon for the moment. Absolutely lonely. Never thought I would see that day I would actually talking with other people. Sure, finding out there's a cannibal on the staff wasn't the greatest announcement to be treated too before having too flee to the catacombs. Then I met you guys. For real. Not from the safe distance of some place else. Makes a world of difference. Shit. That's another pun. And I thought I was actually doing quite well on that front.

"It's just a pun, nothing to get that mad over." Marulyn announced, getting a look from the rest of our heroes. It might not seem like much, but it's a major part of me. That, and it doesn't come up far too often. So it all works out, more or less.

Giving a nod, our destination comes into view. For the moment, we find Mari Gold of all people sweeping. Dressed in her usual waitress outfit, she looks the same as ever. Not that this is a bad thing. The more things change, the more they stay the same. AOr something dumb like that. Never been too certain how well that works in practice.

Though by the time that you guys actually approach, she's just standing there and waiting.

"There you are!" Mari announced, gaze already shifting to Madame for the moment. "I trust that you all have been on your best behavior?"

Nods all around. Before we get anywhere. Hi. I'm the unimportant voice in the sky narrating in the background by the name of Mister Lore Mage. Yes, my first name is in fact 'Mister'. It's a very long story and doesn't really matter for the moment. I'm their narrator and observer.

"Usual table." Madame answered, stepping out in front of everyone. "Most of us haven't had anything that would be considered proper food in the last couple days. So no funny business."

Their gaze shifted to Yvonne. The knight knelt down, taking the time to whisper something to her teammate. The conversation that followed was short and plain. Can't really call it sweet when they both have someone in particular with romantic feelings. Better to air on the safe side in regards to that. Even if I can't actually hear what they are saying. Probably nothing to worry about.

"That, and it's Yvonne's birthday." Madame continued as the group made their way into the cafe proper. Out of everything we've seen now that we're back in Aldia, this was somehow the one place that hadn't. The tables sit in the same places, the benches look as clean as ever. But the real question has yet been answe- Feel free to ignore my babbling. I have to make sure that the viewers have a good idea on what's going on. So hopefully, you don't find me distracting.

"I'll keep that in mind." Mari explained and grabbed some menus. As she did that, our heroes made their way over to a nearby table and sat themselves down. Kind of a shame that Melody and Rantha can-

"What's this about us?" a pair of voices called out, our titular pair and their partners making their way over to the table and took a seat with everyone else. I can just make out a trunk and a couple of bags outside the cafe. You might want to

"Where have you guys been?" Cinemon remarked, gaze already on Carinamon for the moment. The scorpion digimon looked away, trying his hardest to just make himself as small as possible. I probably would too after everything that's gone down both here in Aldia and in Malibu. By any chance, does any of that ring a bell? Or has everything after your transformation back from Adarnamon swirl everything up for you?

Cariinamon nodded, giving the faintest of glances to the ceiling. For a brief second, I swore I saw a tear roll right down.

Then he's right back to staring into Rantha's top. All well and gone, if not for the fact that he's a feathered scorpion thing sitting on some guy who's top looks nothing like a feathered scorpion.

"We went to grab some of Rantha's stuff." Melody explained, gaze on Munbimon of all people. A small hand motion followed. Great attempt to get her over to you, except for the fact that such a gesture passed right over the ghost monkey digimon's head. Literally and figuratively. Maybe try a more direct approach to get her over.

The mystic nodded and closed her eyes, focusing her head in Munbimon's general direction.

'Could you come over to me?' she thought, catching a blur of motion at the last possible moment. Munbimon currently laid in her lap, Lumosmon floating over to Yvonne in response to this possible cuddle. They flash green of all colors. Yes, we get it. You're not happy about your partner getting all cuddly with another partner digimon.

"This would be far easier if we actually had a way to communicate with them." Balamon remarked, Mari bringing over the menus. But not before getting a look at Rantha in, followed by a sigh. Yeah. He's with us. Turns out he's a mess in all sorts of ways. But he's making progress.

Rantha nodded and focused on Mari for the moment. You only got one chance at this. Make it count.

"I'm sorry about any possible damages that I or Carinamon may have caused to your establishment." the artisan explained, bowing his head as tears began to roll down. Yet, Mari took a deep breath. Placing a hand right under Rantha's chin, she raised right back on up.

"Sweetie, that was a couple months ago. Right now, everyone's focus is on the rebuilding of the part of town you destroyed." Mari announced, both Rantha and Melody looking at our heroes and their loved ones. Yeah. We've been over this now at least three times, but a couple months have passed while we were in the Digital Dungeons. I don't quite get it either. Though, both DM and I are now proud owners of a Salamon. Much like the whole time thing, we're not sure why we got gifted such a creature. I guess whoever decides to give these out has a big plan in mind. What that plan is, I'm not particularly sure what it is. "I trust that neither of you don't want any egg dishes, correct?"

Rantha nodded, Carinamon taking this as his moment to crawl from Rantha's left shoulder to his right. If you're trying to hide yourself, that position makes it even more obvious to the surrounding people. Which for the moment, appear to be a couple of orcs, succubi and other

"Quite a big place." the feathered scorpion digimon announced as his gaze shifted to the other partner for the moment. Of the few actually capable of eating, they were looking at the menu. Just had to make sure what they wanted was still on the menu. "In all seriousness, what did you guys do after we tried to destroy this place?"  
Marulyn's gaze swiveled over to Carinamon, carefully giving her girlfriend a slight tap for the moment. Yvonne's gaze swiveled on over from her menu. But not without some whispering of context from the elven mage.

"We cleaned up your mess, then helped Mari and her wife around the Cafe so they could make up for any sales they might've missed." Yvonne explained, setting her and Marulyn's menus in the center of the table. Kollmon's quickly joined there's, followed by Madame's. Here's to hoping you don't get goop again. Not that I think either Mari or her wife would actually go through with it now of all times. You just got back from a long trip. Probably make up a feast for all of you.

"Good to know." Carinamon remarked, gaze shifting back to Rantha's menu. Currently, our artisan was looking at the salads. An interesting choice after all the rations you've guys have been subjected too for the last couple days. Not that I'm saying that you shouldn't. Just something to keep in mind before ordering your meal. "Gotcha."

While Rantha continued to look the menu over, Blaze and Dave set their menus down. Definitely look to be sharing a meal today.

"So now that we're all back, what's our plan?" Munbimon remarked, gazes all about our table for the moment. To be fair, you've been back for what? A couple hours at most. I get that a plan needs to be made, but it might also be good to relax. Just a tiny bit of peace and quiet can do a wor-

Of course, this is the moment that Salamon decides to wake up. I'm in the middle of narrating for the moment. Dinner - for both you and me is going to have to wait till they're done. Shouldn't be that much longer.

Salamon gives me a nod, going to chase his tail or something. Did the dogs and cats that my fellow wizards kept around engage in this behavior? Probably not. Even if for some reason they actually did, they probably discourage that in their familiars. Not that I've seen that many in my time at the academy.

"Failures? How?" Bubbles chimed in and cradled Phusitmon in his lap, looking up towards the ceiling for the moment. Think of a digimon, but it's not a digimon. More an animal that comes from another dimension, that warlock patrons have a different level of access too. Judging by the look our little dragon is giving me currently, I think he understands. Though, the options for wizards aren't as interesting as the digimon you got.

"Yeah." Marulyn remarked and focused on Bubbles for the moment. "On top of that, they cost quite a bit of gold and they're rarely worth the benefit. I used to have a snake… until someone accidentally stomped on it."

Her gaze shifted back to Yvonne, a sigh exiting the knight's lips at the moment. While not quite the sort of thing you really want to be thinking about on your one special day, no real use in avoiding it.

"That only happened once and it was an accident." Yvonne remarked, Mari finally making her way over to pick up menus and get their orders. Which is also a good time for everyone else to make their decision on what they're having for their first meal back in Aldia.

"We'll share a soup." Blaze announced, getting a nod of confirmation from Dave as he took a proper spot at the table. Would be kind of hard to share otherwise. Unless… No, that would be absolutely dumb and neither of them would actually go through with it.

"Ella and I would like some sandwiches." Madame added, shooting Mari a look. She got the message loud and clear, even if Bubbles was still looking at the menu. But eventually, he points to a picture of a bird. Definitely a new item on the menu.

"Are you sure, dear? That's quite a lot of meat for a little guy." Mari answered, Madame and Ella looking towards his menu as well. I guess the picture of the bird is supposed to show that you're getting a whole bird instead of… I don't know, a single piece? Or something along those lines. That can't be cheap… Unless there's some kind of strange catch to go with our meal.

"Would it be possible to give him a smaller portion?" Ella remarked and received a sigh from our waitress. Her gaze shifted to the far end of the kitchen. There, I can only assume that Mari's wife is hard at work - cooking meals and probably glaring. At who? Her wife, at this current moment. Maybe Madame. Perhaps even both.

"Yes, but I'm going to get quite a bit of flak from my wife." Mari answered and scribbled the order down, gaze shifting to Rantha and Carinamon of all people. "What's it going to be for you two?"

Rantha gave the menu one more look, then gave his partner a slight tap. Carinamon's gaze swiveled over to face him.

"What do you want?" Rantha whispered, Carinamon just now getting to the menu. As long as you don't order the rest of that chicken, things should be okay. I think at least.

"Some fruit." the feathered scorpion digimon remarked and Mari wrote it down. Of course, that doesn't answer what you want Rantha.

"I'll have a salad." Rantha answered, shooting Melody a quick look. At the moment, our mystic was moving Munbimon to her shoulder. While her menu had made its way to the rest of the menus, I'm not particularly sure what Melody has in mind.

"I'll give the 'burger' a shot." Melody announced as she set Munbimon down on her shoulder. Then it's right back to our waitress. Though, I'm not particularly sure what this burger is, myself. Does sound kind of tasty though. Hopefully the kitchen has everything I need to make such a creation. I digress, of course.

"Some soup as well." Kollmon announced, extra care taken not to give her journal when handing over her menu. Then it's right over to Cinemon of all digimon for what he wants at the moment. Even if I do have a good idea on what he wants.

"If you have any bones, that would be nice." the feline dog digimon remarked and jumped down from the table. To be fair, I'm not entirely sure why exactly he was given a menu in the first place. Maybe Mari thought he would choose something different this time? No real clue.

Yet, our waitress's gaze shifted over to Yvonne of all people. While no real words are spoken at the moment, I have a pretty good idea on what's being transmitted to our knight. Looks to be, status of relationship or something along those lines. Shooting her girlfriend a look, Yvonne took a deep breath and set her khakkara down. Just make sure to remember to pick it back up once this meal is all over. Don't want a repeat of what had happened with your warhammer and Madame's whip. At all.

"Marulyn and I have decided to remain a couple." she remarked, what looks to be a smile forming on Mari's face. A sigh followed. Then we're right back to taking down orders. "We'll share a salad."

The waitress nodded and wrote down the order. That should be everyone now. Unless I've forgotten about someone during this whole sequence. It's possible.

"Your meal should be out in a couple of minutes." Mari explained and headed for the kitchen. Guess this is a perfect time to discuss strategy/what we need to do now that we're back here in Aldia.

"For starters, we need to bury Bubbles's mom." Madame started, Bubbles looking away. Giving Phusitmon a very tight squeeze, he lets his focus shift to the floor. Sure, it didn't seem that long ago that she died. After all that has happened - meeting Phusitmon, finding Princess, meeting everyone else… He now had a family with two mommies, a bunch of friends, a place to call home and of course, two dresses. But to face down his own deceased mother? Was he strong enough to face th-

Out of nowhere, Rantha carefully picked the little dragon up. While that wasn't quite what he expected to happen there, the artisan had taken the time to make sure that his dress didn't get mangled. Always a plus in situations such as this one.

"You'll be fine." Rantha remarked and turned Bubbles around for the moment. A proper hug followed, with one for Phusitmon as well for good measure. Not that the plush rabbit digimon really minded getting treated to such affection. "If anything, the worst part is already over. You've been able to find something to fight for and people willing to support you. All that's left to do is to say your last words and bury her."

Bubbles nodded, focus shifting to both his mothers. For the moment, they nod in agreement. Even if the irony in regards of this coming out of Rantha's mouth of all people is quite hilarious in this current. But maybe that's just me.

Nonetheless, the artisan carefully set Bubbles and Phusitmon back on their spot at the bench. After, his attention shifted back to the rest of the group.

"How are you holding up at least, boss?" Dave remarked and got a look from his boss. To be fair, I would consider Blaze more your boss than Rantha. Especially since you were one of the first grunts to defect from his command.

"I've been better." Rantha muttered, Carinamon shifting his position for the third or fourth time now. Could you please make up your mind?

Carinamon shot the ceiling a look, then returned to shifting his body about in Rantha's lap. Did get him a little pet from his partner.

"We also need to tell everyone that 'Madame' is no longer going to be a main part of people's lives." Ella remarked, getting a nod from her girlfriend as everyone focused on our thief at the moment.

"Uh… could you maybe fill us in on what you mean by that?" Melody remarked and got a nod from Madame. A deep breath followed. Take your time. This is quite a rollercoaster based on what we do know.

"Madame 'was' an actual person at one point." Madame explained as they reached out for Ella's hand from under the table. Ella grabbed hold, giving it a tight squeeze. "While I don't know exactly when she actually 'died', she managed to rope in at least one succubi and their spouse to act as the shapers of so-"

As the thief said that, Mari made her way out. Taking a deep breath, she makes a beeline over to the table. Sorry about this.

"Small correction. We inherited it from the last group that was working on Madame. 'She' had the maids kill them." Mari explained, getting from both Madame and Ella at this current moment. Fuck. This is going to get worse, isn't it?

The waitress's gaze shifted to the ceiling, both a nod and head shake following. You do realize that isn't showing any confidence and more giving me mixed signals at the moment? Because that's what it feels like.

"Not my intention, but I can see where you're coming from." Mari continued as her gaze shifted back to Ella and Madame. "I trust there's no hard feelings now?"

Madame nodded. Sure, in between the incident with the goop and the other stuff, there have been reasons not to trust you or your wife. But it's been a couple of months (Aldia-time), we've seen (some of) the worst parts of the Madame process. Well, I hope at least. Which is among the other mysteries held within that manor.

"No hard feelings." they announced, taking the time to squeeze Ella's hand just one more time for good measure. Then it's right back to focusing on the rest of our group. Minus Mari, who has decided that is her moment to head back to the kitchen. "Anything else that needs to be done?"

Silence. Though considering what we just steered out of a couple seconds ago, I don't really blame people for feeling that way.

"Rantha and I need a place to live." Melody chimed in, Lumosmon reluctantly floating back over to her. Not without a little colored light show for good measure on the way back. "Preferably, someplace where he can serve out whatever punishment the people of Aldia decide is worthy of the destruction caused."

I can totally see that. Even if I'm kind of surprised you guys don't use that spaceship thing under the guise of acting as informants and just misleading them on purpose.

"I would like a place similar to my shop." Rantha remarked, finding himself getting treated to glances from all parties involved. Even those that weren't even at our table, just minding their own business and eating their meals. "That way, I'm surrounded by the people of Aldia. Not the echoes of my former employer."

Uh… fair enough? Wait. You quit Distant Harmony? Is that even possible for someone in your rank? I would assume they wouldn't want you to just walk out the door with any secrets you may have on you.

Rantha's gaze shot up to the ceiling. A smile on his face, I'm not particularly sure what's so funny about that. At all. I don't think you really notice how often you and Carinamon do it. At all.

"If there was anything that they really wanted to not get out, they probably would've killed me before I even had a chance to actually leave the space ship." Rantha explained, carefully petting Carinamon as his gaze returned to his fellow table mates. "Speaking of which, Melody and I should check on DM. At least once, maybe while Melody and I are moving more of my stuff here to Aldia."

Any sign of that purple-haired girl? I would assume that you had to have ran into her at least once while you were over there… right?

Melody and Rantha shook their heads. Huh… I would assume Distant Harmony would at least up their security in response to someone messing around with their stuff. Don't want a rogue element to pop out of nowhere and tear your whole operation apart. But after everything I've heard I guess that doesn't surprise me.

As I said that, Mari returned once more. This time, she was carrying all of our food. And what looks to be part of the bird. Well, I hope that's part of the bird. Just the plate alone is bigger than most of the other dishes combined that she's having to carry.

"Mom, you sure you don't need any help?" Marulyn remarked, getting a head shake from Mari as she set the other plates of food down on the table. That way, she could put her focus on just this one plate and nothing else.

"Oh…" Bubbles whispered and looked up the plate as Mari set it on down. The picture alone doesn't do it justice. Not even a smidgen. What appears to be a whole turkey has been butchered and carved up into 'small pieces'. I'm not quite sure that's quite a compromise.

"I'm aware." Mari answered and took a deep breath. I'm guessing your wife decided to cut it all up the bird and then call it 'small pieces'? "You're right on the money."

Good to know at least. You do allow for people to take stuff out of the restaurant?  
Mari nodded and headed back towards the kitchen. Guess that means it's time to eat. Yawn. Crap. How long have I been up at this point? It can't be a whole day at this point.

"Go and get some rest." Yvonne barked, gaze already on the ceiling. Munbimon has already made her way back over to her, Melody blowing a kiss her way. I trust that you all should be okay. See you all tomorrow. "Hear you tomorrow?"

Close enough.

* * *

Notes:

With the end of this arc, I'm going to take a short hiatus. Just long enough to work on other projects for a bit.

.

Next Time: I guess this was expected to an extent.


	59. All the crimes I didn't know I did.

I don't own digimon.

* * *

The dawn of a new day in Aldia brings with it a refreshed me for once. Definitely needed a good night of sleep. Which also brings us right to Madame's manor. There, we find our thief getting ready for their day. And by getting ready for their day, they're currently trying to see if they already have a suit while dressed in their pajamas. I don't think I can quite describe that without having this come out as… weird.

Yet, Madame let out a chuckle. Hey. I've seen nearly all of you in some state of nakedness. As much as I prefer not to see that, I've grown kind of used to it. Please keep it to a minimum.

The thief nodded.

"Good to see you are refreshed now." Madame muttered as their gaze shifted to the floor. A pair of dolls sat comfortably there, covered in dust as a result of everything that had gone on in the last couple days/months that we were in the Digital World. "Wait. Aren't these Bubbles's dolls?"

Uh… hold them up to the ceiling. Kind of hard to really tell from where you're holding. Though, it might help to stand on something for me to get the best look.

Looking about this 'dressing room', Madame's gaze eventually focused on a stepstool. Walking over, they step on up and hold the dolls up. They've definitely seen far better days. Nothing that a little shake or two can't fix at least. Stepping back on down, that's exactly what Madame does. They're already looking a heck of a lot better. Though, if Hilda and Blance are here… Then where's Bubbles? I would assume that he would've seen them yesterday when he was putting away his dress. Or perhaps the dust obscured him from seeing it.

"That's a possibility." Madame remarked and took a deep breath. Pulling one of their less nicer dresses off the rack, they hold it up above their body. Gray lace, it played well with the bits of hair that was finally growing in. Not much, but give it some time. I'm guessing Bubbles is sleeping nearby? "Yeah."

Now dressed (kinda), the thief made their way down the hall and headed for the kitchen of all places. There we find our little dragon and his partner. Still slumbering on a table of all places, what looked to be tears of all things had pooled on the floor.

"Bubbles dear…" Madame cooed and slowly approached their son. The dolls carefully cradled by their side, it was a matter of slipping the dolls under Bubbles's arm and making a run for it. A perfect job for a world-class thief such as yourself. Right?

Madame rolled her eyes and made their way over. Each step was slow and thought out. Or at least would've been, if an audience of Ella had shown up for the moment. Already dressed for whatever today is going to bring. Most likely, the procurement of a suit of some kind for our thief here. Then maybe a trip down to the sewers. You know, a typical day in your people's life.

"Just ignore me for the moment, dear." the artificer announced, Madame's gaze swiveling back to Bubbles for the moment. Taking one more step forward, they set the princess dolls into the little dragon's arms. Then it's back to their girlfriend for the moment.

"Mommy, please leave head." Bubbles announced and rolled about the table. The dolls were still in his arms, but Phusitmon was knocked off the table.

"You really need to get us a bed." the plush rabbit digimon remarked and got a nod from both Madame and Ella. Just add it to our list of things to do today. "Though, he's been like this all night. I just got him to go to sleep."

Ella's gaze shifted away from Phusitmon and over to Madame. In their defense, he's still asleep. Even if there was a chance of him waking up while you were slipping the dolls back under his arm. Beyond the point for the moment,

"Understood…" Madame whispered, a deep breath following their answer. Then it's right back over to their girlfriend for the moment. "Are Kollmon and Cinemon up yet?"

The pitter patter of feet echoed down the hall, the answer to that question making their way towards them.

"Morning." Kollmon announced, Madame and Ella stepping out of the kitchen to let our little dragon get some proper sleep. Or at least try too get some proper sleep. "Oh. Did something like… happen?"

Madame nodded. To be fair, it wasn't that much. Just our thief finding Bubbles's princess dolls he accidentally lost a while back when picking his first dress out. You know, before this whole mess with the digital world occured and stuff.

"What do you want to do first?" Madame continued and focused back on Ella. Who at the moment, was looking over our thief's current attire. In their defense, Madame did take the time to look for one. Which was how the dolls were accidentally found.

"Getting you a suit, to start off with." Ella answered, Madame looking away for the briefest of moments. "Then we at least look for beds at the furniture store and finally, we go see Bubbles's mom."

Nods all around. Good to see we're all in agreement on this. Though, what are we going to do with Bubbles?

The couple's gaze shifted to our little dragon for the moment. Sure, they could leave him all alone in the manor. But that brought with it a risk of something happening. Things like kidnapping or even blackmail by some new distant harmony threat.

But if they took Bubbles out of his bed, the little dragon would definitely wake up and throw a tantrum. On top of freaking out about his mother being in his head or something strange along those lines. Though if you're careful, you might be able to scoop Bubbles up and take him with you. Just make sure to trade off every once in a while.

"Got it." Ella answered, stepping right into the kitchen. Reaching out for the little dragon, she carefully scooped her son up. Didn't even notice change in spots. At least for now. Then it was a matter of slowly making their way out of the manor and out onto Aldia itself.

Outside, things were bustling as usual in town. Though at the moment, the focus looks to be on the rebuilding process than anything else. "When was the last time you've gone clothing shopping?"

Madame looked away, muttering something to the ground. Oh. Guess that says it all for the moment. It's perfectly alright if you haven't. Most wizards only buy clothes when the ones they have are all finished. Even then, we're more the kind to use stuff like mending to repair the damages than go out and buy something new. Though, most of my frie-

No, we're not going to the store. Heck, there aren't any stores in the academy. Even if there were, you don't have any money. Let's say you somehow did. What the heck would you even buy there? Dog food?

Silence. More of Salamon thinking over his answer than actual quiet. Uh.. Sorry about this. I accidentally woke him up in the process upon hearing me say 'store' for some reas- Oh. Toys. You know what? I can see where you're coming from.

"It's alright." Ella remarked and looked towards Madame. Right in step with their girlfriend, she took the time to reach out with her free hand. The thief grabbed hold, giving it a slight squeeze as their gaze focused on their child. Still slumbering, even against the sort of bumpy cobblestone streets Aldia had to offer. "Any preference on the color of your suit?"

Madame's gaze shifted to their dress. While their original dress was white, would a white dress quite work? Most suits are usually brown, gray or black. I don't believe I've ever seen a white suit. Guess it's possible if given enough time. Though, the same could be said about all the other colors.

"Not really." Madame answered and let their gaze return to Ella. While they still had a bit before the cluster of the shops, it would be good "Do you want me to carry Bubbles for a little bit?"

Focusing on her passenger for the briefest moments, they look to be fidgeting about. While the dolls are still in place, it was only a matter of time before either of them did something dumb and accidentally woke Bubbles up. But that would just be silly. The worst has to be ov-

"Princess?" Bubbles whispered, our pair coming to a stop. Guess that answers your question. So carefully, the artificer handed off the little dragon over to Madame. Cradling him close, our pair headed off. But not without making sure that their partners were following right behind. For the record, they were.

"Thanks for the reminder." Phusitmon muttered and got up onto Cinemon. Taking a seat right behind Kollmon, he made sure to hold on tight. Taking a deep breath, his gaze shifts to the sky. "Uh… sorry about that. I don't think I got any sleep due to a certain someone."

I understand that feeling. Some nights, I would be unable to get sleep. Even with the use of a spell. Even when I eventually did, it wasn't even that good and I would usually wake up not that long after. That's beyond the point. Especially as the shopping district is now in view. In the time since we've last been here, not a lot has changed. Sure, the clothing store is no longer frozen in a large block of ice. Though, I guess that's to be expected. Probably be more odd if parts of that frozen cube still remained. You two ready for this?

"Yeah." Ella announced and grabbed hold of Madame's hand once more. Sure, it does suck that you'll have to transfer Bubbles over. Again. But it shouldn't be for that long… Unless one of Madame's descendants really screwed the pooch and you're not welcome in the store for whatever reason. "I don't think anything has happened… Outside of the fact that Madame is not known to actually buy anything. Outside of food."

Okay… then what the heck are they supposed to do with the money they are supposedly stealing from the townsfolk? That has to you know, go somewhere. Unless you're somehow paying them back with something of equal value. But that's probably pushing it for the moment.

Nonetheless, our heroines made their way to the door. Though, it would be Madame of all people who would open the door up. Did allow for their girlfriend to grab hold of Bubbles once more as we all head through.

Much like the shopping district, the clothing store looked mostly unchanged. Sure, the stock was probably different from what was on offer a couple of months ago, but that's expected. Seasons come and go, bringing with it their own sets of fashion. Or something along those lines, as was explained to me by a former student. Though, that's more something that depends on the region you're living in and the predictability of the weather. Doesn't really in the case of Aldia, though.

"Welcome." the shopkeeper greeted, her gaze already on Madame for the moment. A sigh followed as what appears to be a knife comes on out. I promise you we're not bringing trouble with us… for once.

"I'm not even sure what 'I' did to piss you off in the first place." Madame added, taking the time to close the door behind them. After, their focus shifted to the shopkeeper. But not before putting a hand on their whip. Just in case. "I'm just here to buy a suit or two. That's pretty much it."

The shopkeeper rolled her eyes, pointing towards the middle of the store. Uh… thanks? The least you could do is lower that knife.

"If I hear one word about my wares being gaudy…" the shopkeeper announced, knife grinding against their table. Hey. Someone is trying to sleep. That's the last thing they need to be hearing. "I will kick you all out. You'll also be banned from ever shopping here."  
Uh… that's a bit excessive to justify that response. Unless whatever Madame did in the past was quite egregious to really balance out to a punishment such as this.

"He does have a point." Cinemon announced as his passengers jumped off for the moment. Doing a bit of a stretch, he decided to take a seat on the floor. Did get him a pet from Ella. Aw…

Then it was right to the middle of the store for this selection of 'suits'. Would there really be a market for such a garment. Sure, the main population of Aldia are orcs, followed by succubi. The former don't seem like the sort to get all dressed up refined. Especially while you're in the middle of a rebuilding process. The latter… maybe. But that seems even more like a stretch.

"It's possible." Kollmon remarked, looking up to the selection on offer. While there looked to be a bunch of suits, most of them were far too long for our thief to wear. Let alone in the desired color. Lots of blacks and grays. A few browns, but not much else on stock. This might be a case to get measured and have the suit made and delivered.

Madame let out a sigh and looked towards the floor. Of course they didn't have the one thing they had wanted. Sure, they could go talk to the shopkeeper. But considering she had just threatened to stab them for a past transgression reignited, that wasn't a chance they wanted to take. Especially not without a bit more looking.

"Let me look one more time." Madame announced and focused back on the rack of clothes. Pulling each suit out, a look is given. Not much more after that, especially as the garment is put back on the rack for the next one. It doesn't look like this isn't going well. At all. "There has to be one in particular that's both white and in my size."

Madame… It's alright if you're unable to find a suit in your size. We'll just ask someone to make it for you. It doesn't have to be this particular shopkeeper. There has to be someone else in Aldia that has a clue on how to make a suit. Right?

The thief nodded, pulling one last suit off of the rack. It's definitely not the one.

"Was my selection not up to your high 'standards'?" the shopkeeper remarked, knife still out as Madame made their way over.

"I would like a suit in my size. In white." the thief remarked, standing up on their tippy toes to reach over the top of the table. Which was still not enough. "I'm not sure what the fuck I did to piss you off… I'm not the madame who called your wares gaudy. I'm not her."

Tears began to fall down, Ella already making her way over. Climbing her way up onto the table, a slap followed.

"Maddie isn't Madame!" she screeched and grabbed hold of our shopkeeper's top for the moment. Of course, someone had forgotten they were still carrying a little dragon. A very grumpy little dragon. Nothing that handing him off to Madame for the moment couldn't do. "How many fucking times must I tell this to people!"

Now awake, Bubbles looked about his surroundings. Sure, he was fairly certain that he had fallen asleep in the kitchen and not in the middle of a store. Though, Hilda and Blance had made their way back to him. He didn't quite remember when exactly that he had dropped them, but they had somehow made their way back to him. Closing his eyes for the briefest of seconds, visions of his mother's dead body flashed about in rapid succession. Try as our little dragon might to push through this darkness and come on through the other side, it felt as if he was running in place and his eyelids fluttered back open. There wasn't much else he could do at the moment. No, his focus needed to be on that of Madame.

"Princess alright?" Bubbles announced, shaking about in our thief's hands as Madame tried to hug him. While he accepted the gesture, it's probably best to let him down.

"I'm very much not." Madame whispered and set their child down. Then it's right back to her whip. Giving it a slight swing, they grabbed hold of Ella and pulled the artificer back on down. Did manage to catch her in the process. So there's that at least. "People keep claiming that I did stuff in the past. How the hell am I supposed to know that I've done all these things?"

Setting Ella back down, the thief headed around to the back side of the desk. Scrambling their way up, they were now face-to-face with the shopkeeper once more.

"Is there anything that I can do to repair my relationship with you?" they remarked, the shopkeeper looking away for the moment. What looks to be a small picture sits there. Looks to be an orc. Possibly whoever was running this place beforehand?

"That was my husband." the shopkeeper continued, knife coming dangerously close to our thief. Though, Kollmon and the rest of our digimon are heading over. Just in case this situation went south. "You killed him while raiding their till, didn't you? I "

Hold up. Do you somehow have that Madame actually committed such an act? They've been under my surveillance for quite a while now. For them to sneak out and just off a person would not be in-character. Especially since they were in a place that would've prevented them from actually getting back to Aldia.

"They were murdered well before you ever made yourself known." the shopkeeper countered, pointing her knife at the ceiling. Uh… that's not even necessary. I'm very far away and your knife is definitely not going to reach me. At all. "This is all part of some big plan you're pulling on Aldia for the sake of taking it back, isn't it?"

Ella's gaze shot over to the shopkeeper, not entirely sure what to actually make of these claims. My thoughts exactly. That's quite an accusation to be making. Especially since you can't even bring up actual evidence.

"There is no need too." a voice announced, our trio turning to the far side of the room. There, a massive orc stood in the doorway. Decked out in heavy metal armor similar to Yvonne's, what looks to be a set of succubi wings hang out of her back. A set of yellow eyes stare over, strands of long red hair. Wait. Is this what Yvonne's eyes look like? Has too. Doesn't explain the massive double-sided axe on her side.

"Clan mother?" the shopkeeper announced and got a look from our heroes. Uh... I'm going to assume that's the leader of the orcs. Which is different from the mayor. Of which there's none.

"That's, like an interesting title for a leader. Though, why did you forget to do that?" Kollmon remarked, even Salamon giving me a look for the moment. Yeah. I messed th- Wait. That's Yvonne's mom?

"Correct." the woman announced and focused on Madame of all people. Fuck. Even more so as the large doubleaxe comes out. Just our luck here.

Yet, our thief motioned for Bubbles to come over. The little dragon complied, unsure of what his mom had in mind for him. I'm with you there.

"Bubbles, I need you to go and get Yvonne." Madame whispered and pointed to the legs of this strange woman. There looks to be enough room for our little dragon to slip through.

"Princess, will be okay?" Bubbles inquired and got a nod from the thief, Ella using this as the moment to get her turret all set up. Making sure to grab his partner, our little dragon dashed for his target. Thankfully, the turret started up as he did. Didn't fire anything out though.

"So you're trying to get my daughter involved?" their opponent announced, going for a swing with her massive axe. Not very successful on that front.

"Fuse!" Bubbles countered, a blue outline forming around his body. "Druplet!"

Closing his eyes for the briefest of seconds, the pair was pulled out of the room and into the fountain outside. Taking the briefest time to wring out their garments, then it was a matter of heading for the orc part of town. Yvonne had to be there. Right?

* * *

Notes:

So yeah. This is going to be a fun arc. It might not seem that way for the characters, but that's the nature of the beast.

.

Next Time: Things get worse. A lot worse.


	60. On the edge

I don't own digimon.

Of course, it's one thing to have a destination in mind. Another entirely to actually make your way to said destination. Not that I really have that problem now. Since you know, my home has been razed by way of feuding deit- Uh… a deity is a being that at one time, was the subject of worship. Nowadays, they are more in the business of beating the shit out of each other. No one really knows why they are fighting or what they are fighting over. Outside of territory and I guess control of the known universe. The energy of those that worship them is absorbed by those beings. Yeah. A very much lose-lose situation for all parties involved. But that should be the least of our worries. We have food, water and a roof over our heads.

"Yvie!" Bubbles announced, catching glances from the people going about their days. Uh… sorry about that. He's just looking for someone, that's all. Bubbles, would you like some help?

Bubbles shook his head. To be fair, you just did a complete lap around the outside of the fountain without even knowing. I get that it's pretty and all, I highly doubt Yvonne will be around here. Not at this hour. Though, your dress should be dry after all this motion.

"Left." Phusitmon announced, his partner complying for the moment. Heading out of the shopping district, we pass right by Madame's old hideout. Maybe once this situation gets all figured out, Madame can do something with the place. Would make for a good starter.

"For Mellie?" Bubbles chimed in and gazed up towards the sky. I guess? Madame would need to run it by the mystic first. Then you would need to move all of their valuables out. Said valuables would then need to be examined and possibly returned if they had been stolen in the first place. After, what remains will have to be moved to the manor. All that and you still need to get the whole place furnished for whatever tenants move in. That's a long way off. Right now, we need to focus on getting to Yvonne. Thankfully, the rest of the way has enough landmarks to guide us towards our destination. "Got it."

Passing right by the ruins of the Black Cat Inn, things look to be in the same state they were the last time we passed it by - empty and awaiting someone to rebuild it. Just one more thing on our list of things to get too la-

"There he is!" a voice announced, arrows coming quite close to our little dragon. Turning around, Bubbles found himself staring down a group of what I'm going to assume to be archers. A mix of orcs and succubi, this perhaps a touch overkill. He's a kid for fuck's sake. You could easily run up to him and grab him. Not fire arrows his way and freak him out.

"Okay." Bubbles muttered, giving his best attempt at a thumb's up. While a touch freaked out, Blaze's house was finally in view. Just a little bit further and he would be at his destination. Not if these archers had anything to do with it. Wait. Do you still have your infusion power?

Looking down to his hand, Bubbles punched the air. Nothing happened. So he gave it another shot. Still nothing. Darn it. Guess it wore off sometime during the walk past the Black Cat Inn?

"Sounds about right." Phusitmon answered as he shifted his body to face out towards the archers.

**Bubble!**

Mouth opening up, bubbles shot out in the direction of the arrows. As in little spheres, Salamon. Yeah. I'm aware it's a silly name for the attack. Speaking of which, do you have any? Oh. Just howling. Eh. It's better than nothing.

As for Phusitmon's projectiles, those collided with the arrows and brought them to the ground. Of course, that wasn't going to stop any of them from continuing to fire their way. To be fair, bubbles aren't the most threatening thing in the world. Neither is howling. Even if they do cause damage, it's still not something to be relying on in battle. Infusion does make it a step closer to being usable. Not by much though. Sure, you can heal people from a distance. Melody's motes could probably do something similar. Unless that's the result that appears when she uses Bubbles's infusion power. Beyond the point.

"Bubbles?" a voice called out, Yvonne of all people running up to our pair. Carefully picking the dragon up, her attention turns to Phusitmon. "I'm guessing something is happening?"

Phusitmon nodded, taking the time to get his thoughts in order. Especially with the archers still firing at our trio. Have to run out of arrows eventually.

"A muscular succubus showed up at the clothing store wanting Madame's hide." the plush rabbit digimon explained, the archer's attention shifting away from them and up towards the sky. There, Munbimon was currently trying her hardest to dodge and weave out of the way of the arrows for the moment. Did manage to give a couple of the projectiles a kiss before diving down to Yvonne's shoulder. "By any chance do you know this woman?"

Yvonne nodded and shot a gaze out towards her home. I can just make out Marulyn from here. What looked to be a wave follows. After, her attention turns back to Bubbles and Phusitmon.

"She's my mom. Even if I would kind of prefer anyone other than her." Yvonne muttered and got a pat from Bubbles. "Thanks, Bubbles. Though, I might need more than that to get through this."

That bad, huh? Considering that this is the first time we're really hearing abo- Wait. Didn't you threaten to take Madame to your mom a while back?

Yvonne nodded, khakkhara already jingling about in her hands. Oh. I'm guessing that this wasn't the case and something else?

"It was more of an idle threat than something that I would actually go through with." the knight remarked as she made a beeline for her attackers, a gray outline forming around her body. "Infuse, spirit!"

Khakkhara pulled back, the swing that followed reached the first two archers. More specifically, the banging of the rings that did most of the work for the rest.

"It took a couple years just for her to even acknowledge my 'relationship' with Marulyn." Yvonne continued and took the time to make sure that her infusion abilities had done its job properly. It had, but still a good thing to do just in case. "Don't get me wrong. We didn't really start 'dating' till… yesterday. But there was always a sense of… I don't know, disapproval. I've been living with Marulyn for a couple of years. If she didn't want me living, then she should've told me that before."

Uh… does she hold the same sentiment for similar same-sex couples in Aldia? I would imagine that this wasn't something that the town had before the orcs brought the succubi with them to conquer the place.

Yvonne shook her head and let out a deep breath. Oh. This is something else entirely. Something that might have to do with the fact that your mother wasn't originally a succubus?

"That's part of it." the knight continued and let her gaze return to the path ahead. "After my dad died, she decided to get turned."

Oh. I'm guessing she was probably nearing the end of her lifespan?

Another nod. Oh. While I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to people transforming, it's possible that extending one's life beyond the normal bounds has its consequences. Most of which are bordering on godhood or something similar. Upon hearing that from me, Bubbles gave Yvonne a hug. The knight accepted the gesture and continued forth down the path.

"Thanks." she whispered and looked ahead. While the trio were making good time, we didn't have a real clue of what might be going down at the clothing store. Outside of Madame, Ella and their digimon partners are trapped in a stand-off with Yvonne's mom. The sooner you three can get there, the sooner we can get this situation defused. Or something along those lines "Hold on tight!"

The Black Cat Inn now in view, Yvonne veered off the path and headed towards the ruins. I'm going to trust your judgement here. Even if I'm not completely sure how much of a time save this actually is.

Passing right through what remained of the entrance area, it's kind of surprising just how much is intact. At the same time, the amount that's been completely destroyed is absolutely staggering to behold. Even if something of Ella or any one of the people who were staying here had survived, it's unlikely you'll actually be able to grab out from all the charred wood, stone and other materials. But that's beyond the point. Carefully, Yvonne took care to not disrupt the rubble with her staff. That's the last thing we need right. Especially as we head through what looks to be the window of Ella's office. Back outside and on the path, it's a straight shot right to the clo-

Which exactly the moment that the archers decide to show back up. Thanks. That was totally what we needed. Said no one ever.

"We're just doing our job." one of the archers announced, arrows already flying out of their bows. For what I assume to be a recreational duty, they're quite fast on the draw. Nothing quite to the speeds of that trained all their life with a bow could reach. "With the recent attacks, we need to be at the ready."

Yet why are you trying to kill the ones who have the best chance at stopping those attacks? Better yet, why are you following the orders of someone who only just came back? Were they at least informed of all the shit that had gone down?

Silence. Guess that answers my question well enough. Thankfully, our heroes are nearing our destination. No sign of any additional orcs or other troops under Yvonne's mother control. Wait. Does she have an actual name?

"Yvette." Yvonne explained and pulled her khakkhara back one more time. Though, this looks to be the spiked end. Uh… you're not about to do what I think you're about to do? "No."

Okay… I guess I'll wait and see what y-

As it would turn out, 'what Yvonne had in mind' was slamming the spike of the staff into her mother's armor, flinging her off to the side and then freezing her in place. Then it's just a matter of heading over to Madame and Ella. No worse for the wear, even if the turret looked ready to disappear. Judging by the handful of scorch marks on the floor, there looked to have been a couple warning shots. Just in case.

"Here I am." Yvonne remarked and knelt down, watching both Bubbles and Phusitmon jump off. The little dragon made a beeline for Madame, a hug following. The thief was more than happy to reciprocate the gesture. "Sorry about Yvette. If I had known she was going to show up."

Madame looked away. Mutterings of something exited their lips. A sigh followed.

and let go of Bubbles, their gaze shifting to Yvette. Still frozen in place, what looked to be a glare had formed on her face. Which looks incredibly funny in her frozen state. Then it's back over to Yvonne.

"I'm guessing she's your mom?" the thief whispered and got a nod from our knight. Which made it the perfect time to get their whip out. "Any reason why she's so insistent that I killed someone in the past?"

Madame's words rolled out, Yvonne's gaze split between her mother and the shopkeeper. A deep breath followed.

"Care to explain yourself?" Yvonne remarked and shifted her focus fully over to the shopkeeper. The knife is still out. I don't really think it's actually going to be effective here. At all. Unless it's one of those special ones that can work through armor. Not that likely.

"Ms Strauss decided that today was the day that she was going to get a suit. But she isn't welcome" the shopkeeper explained and set her knife down… only to keep a hand there for good measure. Personally, I would think a better option would be to transform into something small and just book it out of there. Though, you would look guilty. Even as Ella shoots daggers your way. "Was right before the completed integration of Aldia, when you stupid people really thought you could actually ho-"

She doesn't finish her sentence, Yvette shooting her a glare and following it up with a sigh. To be fair, it's rarely a good idea to let bias get in the way of telling your side of this story. Especially if it makes the people investigating have to go down long rabbit holes to find the truth. I don't think any of us want that.

"As I was saying…" the shopkeeper remarked. "This whole mess went down late at night…"

.

_A long time ago in Aldia..._

It's night when this all went down. My husband, bless his heart, was hard at work emptying the gold made from that day's sales. I was back at home, waiting for him to return. But as the night dragged on, I got anxious and went to go and check on him. So making my way down to the shopping district with my lantern, I noticed a figure sneaking about. But they left before I could really get a good look. Didn't even leave anything to really figure out their identity. So I headed onwards to my store, taking care of any people who might have… nefarious intentions for me.

But as I unlocked the door to the shop, I was treated to something that didn't seem possible. My husband dead, a knife through the stomach. Multiple times. After checking to see if there was life in him, I went to check the till. The money was gone and someone had gone through the trouble of leaving a calling card - a card with a red flower on it. Flipping it over, my heart sank. Part of me didn't want to believe it to be the protector of this town had done such a thing. That somehow…. Somehow, this was just a nightmare that I was trapped in. Sadly, it was very much real.

Just taking out the trash and moving it around. I hope you don't mind.

That whore… Madame von Strauss had killed my husband and then got away with it. Until now at least. Now… she's going to pay.

.

Back in reality, Ella took a deep breath. A million different surged throughout the artificer's head, refusing to give her peace. Yes, it was impossible that the person before her had committed such a crime. What about the previous Madame then? Ignoring the maids (they were probably the result of something fucked up, much like everything related to the thief), there would be a huge number of people still living here. No orcs, but you have a good chance that someone knows something. Whether or not it would actually amount to anything remains to be seen. Could the shopkeeper have gotten there in a reasonable time? Beats me.

"That's not helpful." Ella muttered and walked over to the shopkeeper. Picking up that stupid knife of hers, she smashed it into the ground. "Also, Madame is a 'they', not a 'she'!"

A punch followed, Ella scrambling up the counter and letting her hand connect with the shopkeeper's chest. Not very effective, on top of pissing the woman off even more.

I get that you're mad and all. Every right to feel that way. Lashing out against the shopkeeper is not going to help the situation. If anything, you're going to make this situation even worse.

So the artificer took a deep breath and stepped back a couple feet. Just enough to give space to the shopkeeper, but not enough that she couldn't make her way back over and quell anything stupid that they thought about doing. Fair enough. The last thing we need is another fight in this place after what happened with Rantha.

"Are you going to be alright, Maddie?" Ella remarked, watching Madame turn to Yvette at the moment. What appears to be a deep breath followed. Her whip was still up, but hadn't been launched out to her. Then it's right back to their girlfriend. Tears rolled down their face, the shopkeeper laughing. For fuck sake. Can't you see that Madame is hurting at the moment?

"How the hell am I supposed to argue that?!" they announced and felt Kollmon reach out. Grabbing hold, the gale mole digimon used her other hand to hug the thief. "Thank you."

Bubbles was next in line for the hugging, Ella not that far behind. Though, she gave the biggest hug of all of them. Especially when it turned into a full-on carry over to Yvonne. Did accidentally drop Bubbles and Kollmon when she did that. Even if that got them a chuckle from Cinemon. You know what? That's funny. Not whatever our shopkeeper is thinking at the moment.

"Aww…" the knight remarked, our group now the focus of Yvette. About time. For being the last bit of Yvonne's infusion, that spike packed quite a punch. Good to keep in mind for future encounters.

"So this is how you welcome me, dear daughter?" Yvette muttered and held her axe up. Pointing it towards Yvonne, all she received is an eye roll. I haven't heard the nicest things about you. I get that you two do-

Yvette flung her axe up at the ceiling, the weapon sticking quite well. You're not going to kill me that way. At all. Lashing out at me isn't going to solve your problems. Nor is killing Madame for that matter. Right now, our focus needs to be on Distant Harmony and what-

"If you wish to get back into my good graces… You'll do something about those grunts and those leading them. Maybe also introduce me to that elvish girlfriend of yours." Yvette announced, our heroes gazes facing her down for the moment. You do realize that would go against everything we've done as of late? If you want someone's respect, you don't kill those they send after you. You treat their troops with respect. That way, you can turn them to your side and make things

"We will have none of that behavior from you." Cinemon barked, putting himself in between both parties at the moment. "An investigation needs to be done into this crime and then, we get to the bottom of this. Is that clear?"

Yvette rolled her eyes, floating up to grab her axe. Pulling it out of the ceiling, we have two more visitors to the clothing shop - Blaze and Dave. Nice as it is to see you guys, we're kind of in the middle of a moment. Though, I'm guessing you're finally going after the job offer or something. How are your hands?

Blaze raised his palms up. Still look quite burnt. A long way to recovery. Not at all ready for use. Oh well. One day they'll be healed.

"Sorry about intruding." Blaze remarked, Dave carefully grabbing his wrist. After, the pair make their way over to Yvonne. Welcome to the party. Not much of one, though this was not what we had in mind for today. At all. Kind of would've preferred that day over this. But that's just me.

"Oh my." Yvette remarked and focused on Bubbles. A smile formed on her face. Fuck. Where's a fireball when you need one? "To think that the villagers really thought I wouldn't notice. But I did. While I would love to give you my affection, you're going to soon be joining her."

Bubbles's gaze swiveled over to this vile, awful woman. There isn't anything that I can say here that will soothe that wound. Just stand strong. Eventually, a moment will come that will let you shine and prove her wrong. But until that moment, you'll just need to bide your time and wait.

"You will not." Yvonne countered, khakkhara already pointed towards her mother. Not that this was really necessary, since Yvette decided to make her exit. Time to investigate then.

* * *

Notes:

That next chapter teaser wasn't lying. Even if I did rewrite a good chunk of this chapter after posting the previous to work a lot better. I do think it's well worth it for future chapters. Outside of that, we are coming up on Digital Dungeons one year anniversary.

.

Next Chapter: There's a fine balance to this job.


End file.
